U.S. patent number 11,340,308 [Application Number 17/241,396] was granted by the patent office on 2022-05-24 for system and method for state determination of a battery module configured for used in an electric vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to BETA AIR, LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is BETA AIR, LLC. Invention is credited to Peter Adam Gottlieb, Stuart Denson Schreiber.
United States Patent |
11,340,308 |
Schreiber , et al. |
May 24, 2022 |
System and method for state determination of a battery module
configured for used in an electric vehicle
Abstract
A system for state determination of a battery module configured
for use in an electric vehicle. The system including a battery
module including at least a battery cell, a sensor including a
proximity sensor configured to detect a status datum corresponding
to the battery module, a processor configured to receive the status
datum from the sensor, generate a charge datum as a function of the
status datum corresponding to the battery module, generate a health
datum as a function of the status datum corresponding to the
battery module, transmit the charge datum and the health datum, and
a display configured to receive the charge datum and the health
datum corresponding to the battery cell, and display the charge
datum and the health datum corresponding to the battery cell.
Inventors: |
Schreiber; Stuart Denson
(Essex, VT), Gottlieb; Peter Adam (Wayland, MA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BETA AIR, LLC |
South Burlington |
VT |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BETA AIR, LLC (South
Burlington, VT)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005595334 |
Appl.
No.: |
17/241,396 |
Filed: |
April 27, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01R
31/392 (20190101); G01R 31/382 (20190101); B60L
58/16 (20190201); G01R 31/396 (20190101); B60L
58/12 (20190201) |
Current International
Class: |
G01R
31/392 (20190101); G01R 31/396 (20190101); B60L
58/16 (20190101); B60L 58/12 (20190101); G01R
31/382 (20190101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
103745508 |
|
Apr 2014 |
|
CN |
|
104866947 |
|
Aug 2015 |
|
CN |
|
105564655 |
|
May 2016 |
|
CN |
|
108528735 |
|
Sep 2018 |
|
CN |
|
109997050 |
|
Jul 2019 |
|
CN |
|
112186276 |
|
Jan 2021 |
|
CN |
|
3016218 |
|
Jul 2015 |
|
FR |
|
WO 2010024892 |
|
Mar 2010 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
https://dialog.proquest.com/professional/docview/2164144622?accountid=1572-
82 Title: Unmanned aerial vehicles;Military technology Date: Dec.
1, 2018 By: Garvit Bhandari. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Lau; Tung S
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Caldwell Intellectual Property Law
Caldwell; Keegan Dresser; Charles
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for state determination of a battery module configured
for use in an electric aircraft, the system comprising: at least a
battery module, the at least a battery module comprising at least a
battery cell; at least a sensor, wherein the at least a sensor
includes a proximity sensor configured to detect a status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module; a processor, the
processor configured to: receive the status datum from the at least
a sensor; generate, utilizing a machine-learning process, a charge
datum as a function of the status datum corresponding to the at
least a battery module; compare the charge datum to a calculated
charge datum including health datum threshold; generate, utilizing
the machine-learning process, a health datum as a function of the
status datum corresponding to the at least a battery module;
transmit the charge datum and the health datum; and a display, the
display configured to: receive the charge datum and the health
datum corresponding to the at least a battery cell; and display the
charge datum and the health datum corresponding to the at least a
battery cell.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the health datum comprises a
useful life estimate corresponding to the at least a battery
module.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a sensor comprises a
sensor suite, the sensor suite configured to capture a plurality of
data.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a sensor includes a
pressure sensor.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a module strap disposed on a first endplate and a second
endplate configured to secure the first end plate and the second
end plate.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a first endplate disposed at a first end and a second
endplate disposed at a second end.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a compression alignment guide disposed between adjacent
compression elements.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein comparing the charge datum to a
calculated charge datum further comprises using a voting module to
verify whether the charge datum is within an expected range.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein the useful life estimate
corresponding to the at least a battery module is displayed by the
display.
10. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to
select a datum of the plurality of data and utilize the datum to
determine the health datum.
11. A method for state determination of a battery module configured
for use in an electric aircraft, the method comprising: detecting,
by a processor and using at an at least a sensor, a status datum
corresponding to at least a battery module; receiving, at the
processor, the status datum corresponding to at least a battery
module; generating, at the processor utilizing a machine-learning
process, a charge datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module; comparing, at the
processor, the charge datum to a calculated charge datum including
health datum threshold; generating, at the processor, utilizing the
machine-learning process, a health datum as a function of the
status datum corresponding to the at least a battery module;
receiving, at a pilot display, the charge datum and the health
datum; and displaying, at the pilot display, the charge datum and
the health datum.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the health datum comprises a
useful life estimate corresponding to the at least a battery
module.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least a sensor comprises
a sensor suite.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least a sensor comprises
a pressure sensor.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a module strap disposed on a first endplate and a second
endplate configured to secure the first end plate and the second
end plate.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a first endplate disposed at a first end and a second
endplate disposed at a second end.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least a battery module
comprises a compression alignment guide disposed between adjacent
compression elements.
18. The method of claim 11, wherein comparing the charge datum to a
calculated charge datum further comprises using a voting module to
verify whether the charge datum is within an expected range.
19. The method of claim 12, wherein the useful life estimate
corresponding to the at least a battery module is displayed by the
pilot display.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to
select a datum of a plurality of data and utilize the datum to
determine the charge datum and the health datum.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to the field of electric
vehicles. In particular, the present invention is directed to a
system for state determination of a battery module configured for
use in an electric vehicle.
BACKGROUND
In electrically propelled vehicles, such as an electric vertical
takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, it is essential to maintain
the integrity of the aircraft until safe landing. In some flights,
a component of the aircraft may experience a malfunction or failure
which will put the aircraft in an unsafe mode which will compromise
the safety of the aircraft, passengers and onboard cargo.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
In an aspect, a system for state determination of a battery module
configured for use in an electric vehicle includes at least a
battery module, the at least a battery module including at least a
battery cell, at least a sensor, wherein the at least a sensor
includes a proximity sensor configured to detect a status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module, a processor, the
processor configured to receive the status datum from the at least
a sensor, generate a charge datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module, generate a health
datum as a function of the status datum corresponding to the at
least a battery module, transmit the charge datum and the health
datum, and display, the display configured to receive the charge
datum and the health datum corresponding to the at least a battery
cell, and display the charge datum and the health datum
corresponding to the at least a battery cell.
In another aspect, a method for state determination of a battery
module configured for use in an electric vehicle includes
detecting, at an at least a sensor, a status datum corresponding to
at least a battery module, receiving, at a processor, the status
datum corresponding to at least a battery module, generating, at
the processor, a charge datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module, generating, at the
processor, a health datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module, receiving, at a
pilot display, the charge datum and the health datum, and
displaying, at the pilot display, the charge datum and the health
datum.
These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of
the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the
art upon review of the following description of specific
non-limiting embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show
aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it
should be understood that the present invention is not limited to
the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the
drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a system for state
determination of a battery module configured for use in an electric
aircraft presented in block diagram form;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of a processor configured to
generate datums presented in block diagram form;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of a portion of a battery cell
configured for use in an electric aircraft presented in a section
view;
FIG. 4 is an exemplary method for state determination of a battery
configured for use in an electric aircraft presented in block
diagram form;
FIG. 5 is an exemplary embodiment of a battery module configured
for use in electric aircraft presented in isometric view;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a machine
learning module;
FIG. 7 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of an electric
aircraft; and
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing system that can be used to
implement any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein and
any one or more portions thereof.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by
phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views.
In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an
understanding of the embodiments or that render other details
difficult to perceive may have been omitted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation,
numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a
thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be
apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced
without these specific details. As used herein, the word
"exemplary" or "illustrative" means "serving as an example,
instance, or illustration." Any implementation described herein as
"exemplary" or "illustrative" is not necessarily to be construed as
preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the
implementations described below are exemplary implementations
provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the
embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the
scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For
purposes of description herein, the terms "upper", "lower", "left",
"rear", "right", "front", "vertical", "horizontal", and derivatives
thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 7.
Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or
implied theory presented in the preceding technical field,
background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It
is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes
illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the
following specification, are simply embodiments of the inventive
concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions
and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments
disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the
claims expressly state otherwise.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a system 100
for state determination of a battery module configured for use in
an electric vehicle is illustrated. Computing device may include
any computing device as described in this disclosure, including
without limitation a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital
signal processor (DSP) and/or system on a chip (SoC) as described
in this disclosure. Computing device may include, be included in,
and/or communicate with a mobile device such as a mobile telephone
or smartphone. System 100 may include a single computing device
operating independently, or may include two or more computing
device operating in concert, in parallel, sequentially or the like;
two or more computing devices may be included together in a single
computing device or in two or more computing devices. System 100
may interface or communicate with one or more additional devices as
described below in further detail via a network interface device.
Network interface device may be utilized for connecting system 100
to one or more of a variety of networks, and one or more devices.
Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited
to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface
card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples
of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network
(e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network
(e.g., a network associated with an office, a building, a campus or
other relatively small geographic space), a telephone network, a
data network associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a
mobile communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct
connection between two computing devices, and any combinations
thereof. A network may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of
communication. In general, any network topology may be used.
Information (e.g., data, software etc.) may be communicated to
and/or from a computer and/or a computing device. System 100 may
include but is not limited to, for example, a computing device or
cluster of computing devices in a first location and a second
computing device or cluster of computing devices in a second
location. System 100 may include one or more computing devices
dedicated to data storage, security, distribution of traffic for
load balancing, and the like. System 100 may distribute one or more
computing tasks as described below across a plurality of computing
devices of computing device, which may operate in parallel, in
series, redundantly, or in any other manner used for distribution
of tasks or memory between computing devices. System 100 may be
implemented using a "shared nothing" architecture in which data is
cached at the worker, in an embodiment, this may enable scalability
of system 100 and/or computing device.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, system 100 and any one or more
computing devices may be designed and/or configured to perform any
method, method step, or sequence of method steps in any embodiment
described in this disclosure, in any order and with any degree of
repetition. For instance, system 100 may be configured to perform a
single step or sequence repeatedly until a desired or commanded
outcome is achieved; repetition of a step or a sequence of steps
may be performed iteratively and/or recursively using outputs of
previous repetitions as inputs to subsequent repetitions,
aggregating inputs and/or outputs of repetitions to produce an
aggregate result, reduction or decrement of one or more variables
such as global variables, and/or division of a larger processing
task into a set of iteratively addressed smaller processing tasks.
System 100 may perform any step or sequence of steps as described
in this disclosure in parallel, such as simultaneously and/or
substantially simultaneously performing a step two or more times
using two or more parallel threads, processor cores, or the like;
division of tasks between parallel threads and/or processes may be
performed according to any protocol suitable for division of tasks
between iterations. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the
entirety of this disclosure, will be aware of various ways in which
steps, sequences of steps, processing tasks, and/or data may be
subdivided, shared, or otherwise dealt with using iteration,
recursion, and/or parallel processing.
With continued reference to FIG. 100, system 100, processors,
and/or controllers may be controlled by one or more
Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) algorithms driven, for
instance and without limitation by stick, rudder and/or thrust
control lever with analog to digital conversion for fly by wire as
described herein and related applications incorporated herein by
reference. A "PID controller", for the purposes of this disclosure,
is a control loop mechanism employing feedback that calculates an
error value as the difference between a desired setpoint and a
measured process variable and applies a correction based on
proportional, integral, and derivative terms; integral and
derivative terms may be generated, respectively, using analog
integrators and differentiators constructed with operational
amplifiers and/or digital integrators and differentiators, as a
non-limiting example. A similar philosophy to attachment of flight
control systems to sticks or other manual controls via pushrods and
wire may be employed except the conventional surface servos,
steppers, or other electromechanical actuator components may be
connected to the cockpit inceptors via electrical wires.
Fly-by-wire systems may be beneficial when considering the physical
size of the aircraft, utility of for fly by wire for quad lift
control and may be used for remote and autonomous use, consistent
with the entirety of this disclosure. System 100 may harmonize
vehicle flight dynamics with best handling qualities utilizing the
minimum amount of complexity whether it be additional modes,
augmentation, or external sensors as described herein.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, system 100 for state
determination of a battery module configured for use in an electric
vehicle is presented in block diagram form. System 100 includes a
battery module 104. Battery module 104 may be the same as, or
similar to, any battery module as described herein, with specific
reference to FIG. 5 hereinbelow. For the purposes of this
disclosure, a "battery module" is an energy storage device made up
of smaller individual battery storage devices connected together.
For example, a battery module may be included of a plurality of
battery cells wired together in series and/or parallel configured
to store electrical energy. For the purposes of this disclosure, a
"battery cell" is an energy storage device. For example, and
without limitation, a battery cell may include an electrochemical
cell configured to store potential electrical energy in the form of
a chemical reaction. Any battery module and/or battery cell
described herein may utilize a plurality of forms of energy storage
one of ordinary skill in the art would be aware of including but
not limited to, electrochemical energy storage. Battery module 104
includes at least a battery cell 108. At least a battery cell 108
may be similar to, or the same as, any battery cell as described
herein, with specific reference to FIG. 3 hereinbelow. At least a
battery cell 108 may be an electrochemical cell configured to store
electrical energy in one or more forms and methods. At least a
battery cell 108 may be configured to expand and/or contract
according to one or more parameters such as time, usage, material,
and configuration, among others. The configuration of an exemplary
embodiment of battery module 104, at least a battery cell 108, and
a portion thereof will be described in greater detail with
reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, system 100 includes at least a
sensor 112. At least a sensor 112 includes a proximity sensor 116.
For the purposes of this disclosure, a "proximity sensor" is a
device configured to detect the distance of one or more objects
from the sensor. One of ordinary skill in the art, after reviewing
the entirety of this disclosure, would be aware of multiple types,
implementations, and uses for a proximity sensor including
measuring the distance to a sensor from an object, measuring the
rate of change of distance of an object from a sensor, or
triggering one or more other circuits as a function of a detection
from said proximity circuit, among a plurality of others. At least
a sensor 112 may be disposed in or on at least a portion of battery
module 104. At least a sensor 112 may be mechanically and
communicatively connected consistent with the entirety of this
disclosure to one or more portions of battery module 104. Sensor
112 may include more than one proximity sensor configured to detect
a distance, change in distance, threshold distance, or a
combination thereof of one or more components integral to battery
module 104. Proximity sensor 116 may be a sensor able to detect the
presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. Proximity
sensor 116 may emit an electromagnetic field or a beam of
electromagnetic radiation such as infrared, for instance, and looks
for changes in the field or a return signal. The object, or portion
of battery module 104 or portion of battery cell 108, being sensed
may be referred to as the proximity sensor 116 target. Different
proximity sensor targets demand different sensors. For example, a
capacitive proximity sensor or photoelectric sensor might be
suitable for a plastic target; an inductive proximity sensor always
requires a metal target. Proximity sensor 116 may include a
capacitive proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor may be
based on capacitive coupling, that can detect and measure anything
that is conductive or has a dielectric different from air.
Proximity sensor 116 may include projected capacitive touch (PCT)
technology, which is a capacitive technology which allows more
accurate and flexible operation, by etching the conductive layer.
An grid is formed either by etching one layer to form a grid
pattern of electrodes, or by etching two separate, parallel layers
of conductive material with perpendicular lines or tracks to form
the grid; comparable to the pixel grid found in many liquid crystal
displays (LCD). The greater resolution of PCT allows operation with
no direct contact, such that the conducting layers can be coated
with further protective insulating layers, and operate even under
screen protectors, or behind weather and vandal-proof glass.
Because the top layer of a PCT is glass, PCT is a more robust
solution versus resistive touch technology. PCT may include a
self-capacitance and/or mutual capacitance. For the purposes of
this disclosure, "mutual capacitive" sensors have a capacitor at
each intersection of each row and each column. A 12-by-16 array,
for example, would have 192 independent capacitors. A voltage is
applied to the rows or columns. Bringing a finger or conductive
stylus near the surface of the sensor changes the local electric
field which reduces the mutual capacitance. The capacitance change
at every individual point on the grid can be measured to accurately
determine the touch location by measuring the voltage in the other
axis. Mutual capacitance allows multi-touch operation where
multiple fingers, palms or styli can be accurately tracked at the
same time. for the purposes of this disclosure, "self-capacitance"
sensors can have the same X-Y grid as mutual capacitance sensors,
but the columns and rows operate independently. With
self-capacitance, current senses the capacitive load of a finger on
each column or row. This produces a stronger signal than mutual
capacitance sensing, but it is unable to resolve accurately more
than one finger, which results in "ghosting", or misplaced location
sensing. Proximity sensor 116 may have a high reliability and long
functional life because of the absence of mechanical parts and lack
of physical contact between the sensor and the sensed object.
Proximity sensor 116 may also be used to detect machine vibration
monitoring to measure the variation in distance between a shaft and
its support bearing or any two or more elements included by battery
module 104 and at least a battery cell 108. Proximity sensor 116
may include a photoelectric sensor. A photoelectric sensor may be a
device used to determine the distance, absence, or presence of an
object by using a light transmitter, often infrared and a
photoelectric receiver. Proximity sensor 116 may include opposed
(through-beam), retro-reflective, and proximity-sensing (diffused)
types of proximity sensors. A through-beam arrangement may consists
of a receiver located within the line-of-sight of the transmitter.
In this mode, an object may be detected when the light beam is
blocked from getting to the receiver from the transmitter. A
retroreflective arrangement may place the transmitter and receiver
at the same location and uses a reflector to bounce the inverted
light beam back from the transmitter to the receiver. An object may
be sensed when the beam is interrupted and fails to reach the
receiver. A proximity-sensing (diffused) arrangement may be one in
which the transmitted radiation must reflect off the object in
order to reach the receiver. In this mode, an object is detected
when the receiver sees the transmitted source rather than when it
fails to see it. As in retro-reflective sensors, diffuse sensor
emitters and receivers may be located in the same housing. But the
target acts as the reflector so that detection of light is
reflected off the disturbance object. The emitter may send out a
beam of light (most often a pulsed infrared, visible red, or laser)
that diffuses in all directions, filling a detection area. The
target may then enter the area and deflects part of the beam back
to the receiver. Detection occurs and output is turned on or off
when sufficient light falls on the receiver. Some photo-eyes have
two different operational types, light operate and dark operate.
The light operates photo eyes become operational when the receiver
"receives" the transmitter signal. Dark operate photo eyes become
operational when the receiver "does not receive" the transmitter
signal. The detecting range of a photoelectric sensor may be its
"field of view", or the maximum distance from which the sensor can
retrieve information, minus the minimum distance. A minimum
detectable object is the smallest object the sensor can detect.
More accurate sensors can often have minimum detectable objects of
minuscule size. Proximity sensor 116 may include an electromagnetic
induction sensor configured to use the principle of electromagnetic
induction to detect or measure objects. An inductor develops a
magnetic field when a current flows through it; alternatively, a
current will flow through a circuit containing an inductor when the
magnetic field through it changes. This effect can be used to
detect metallic objects that interact with a magnetic field.
Non-metallic substances such as liquids or some kinds of dirt do
not interact with the magnetic field, so an inductive sensor can
operate in wet or dirty conditions which may arise in or on battery
module 104 and at least a battery cell 108.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include a
pressure sensor. A pressure sensor may include, without limitation,
a device for pressure measurement of gases or liquids. A pressure
sensor may act as a transducer; it generates a signal as a function
of the pressure imposed. For the purposes of this disclosure, such
a signal may be electrical and consistent with the description of
electrical signals herein. Pressure sensors can also be used to
indirectly measure other variables such as fluid/gas flow, speed,
water level, and altitude. Pressure sensors can alternatively be
called pressure transducers, pressure transmitters, pressure
senders, pressure indicators, piezometers and manometers, among
other names. There is also a category of pressure sensors that are
designed to measure in a dynamic mode for capturing very high speed
changes in pressure, which may be used.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include a load
cell. A load cell may be a force transducer. It may convert a force
such as tension, compression, pressure, or torque into an
electrical signal that can be measured and standardized. Sensor 112
may, in a load cell embodiment measure the force of one or more
expanding or contracting elements included by battery module 104
and at least a battery cell 108. As the force applied to the load
cell increases, the electrical signal changes proportionally. Load
cell may be strain gauges, pneumatic, and hydraulic, and in
non-limiting embodiments, sensor 112 may include these or other
nondisclosed sensors alone or in combination.
Referring now to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include a plurality of
sensors in the form of individual sensors or a sensor suite working
in tandem or individually. A sensor suite may include a plurality
of independent sensors, as described herein, where any number of
the described sensors may be used to detect any number of physical
or electrical quantities associated with an aircraft power system
or an electrical energy storage system. Independent sensors may
include separate sensors measuring physical or electrical
quantities that may be powered by and/or in communication with
circuits independently, where each may signal sensor output to a
control circuit such as a user graphical interface. In a
non-limiting example, there may be four independent sensors housed
in and/or on battery module 500 measuring temperature, electrical
characteristic such as voltage, amperage, resistance, or impedance,
proximity, or any other parameters and/or quantities as described
in this disclosure. In an embodiment, use of a plurality of
independent sensors may result in redundancy configured to employ
more than one sensor that measures the same phenomenon, those
sensors being of the same type, a combination of, or another type
of sensor not disclosed, so that in the event one sensor fails, the
ability of system 100 and/or user to detect phenomenon is
maintained and in a non-limiting example, a user alter aircraft
usage pursuant to sensor readings.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include
electrical sensors. Electrical sensors may be configured to measure
voltage across a component, electrical current through a component,
and resistance of a component. Electrical sensors may include
separate sensors to measure each of the previously disclosed
electrical characteristics such as voltmeter, ammeter, and
ohmmeter, respectively.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, alternatively or additionally,
sensor 112 may include a sensor or plurality thereof configured to
detect voltage and direct the charging of individual the battery
cells according to charge level; detection may be performed using
any suitable component, set of components, and/or mechanism for
direct or indirect measurement and/or detection of voltage levels,
including without limitation comparators, analog to digital
converters, any form of voltmeter, or the like. Sensor 112 and/or a
control circuit incorporated therein and/or communicatively
connected thereto may be configured to adjust charge to one or more
the battery cells as a function of a charge level and/or a detected
parameter. For instance, and without limitation, sensor 112 may be
configured to determine that a charge level of a battery cell is
high based on a detected voltage level of that battery cell or
portion of the battery pack. Sensor 112 may alternatively or
additionally detect a charge reduction event, defined for purposes
of this disclosure as any temporary or permanent state of a battery
cell requiring reduction or cessation of charging; a charge
reduction event may include a cell being fully charged and/or a
cell undergoing a physical and/or electrical process that makes
continued charging at a current voltage and/or current level
inadvisable due to a risk that the cell will be damaged, will
overheat, or the like. Detection of a charge reduction event may
include detection of a temperature, of the cell above a threshold
level, detection of a voltage and/or resistance level above or
below a threshold, or the like. Sensor 112 may include digital
sensors, analog sensors, or a combination thereof. Sensor 112 may
include digital-to-analog converters (DAC), analog-to-digital
converters (ADC, A/D, A-to-D), a combination thereof, or other
signal conditioning components used in transmission of a first
plurality of battery pack data to a destination over wireless or
wired connection.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include
thermocouples, thermistors, thermometers, passive infrared sensors,
resistance temperature sensors (RTD's), semiconductor based
integrated circuits (IC), a combination thereof or another
undisclosed sensor type, alone or in combination. Temperature, for
the purposes of this disclosure, and as would be appreciated by
someone of ordinary skill in the art, is a measure of the heat
energy of a system. Temperature, as measured by any number or
combinations of sensors present within sensor 112, may be measured
in Fahrenheit (.degree. F.), Celsius (.degree. C.), Kelvin
(.degree. K), or another scale alone or in combination. The
temperature measured by sensors may include electrical signals
which are transmitted to their appropriate destination wireless or
through a wired connection.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may include a sensor
configured to detect gas that may be emitted during or after a cell
failure. "Cell failure", for the purposes of this disclosure,
refers to a malfunction of a battery cell, which may be an
electrochemical cell, that renders the cell inoperable for its
designed function, namely providing electrical energy to at least a
portion of an electric aircraft. Byproducts of cell failure may
include gaseous discharge including oxygen, hydrogen, carbon
dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, a combination thereof, or
another undisclosed gas, alone or in combination. Further the
sensor configured to detect vent gas from electrochemical cells may
include a gas detector. For the purposes of this disclosure, a "gas
detector" is a device used to detect a gas is present in an area.
Gas detectors, and more specifically, the gas sensor that may be
used in sensor 112, may be configured to detect combustible,
flammable, toxic, oxygen depleted, a combination thereof, or
another type of gas alone or in combination. The gas sensor that
may be present in sensor 112 may include a combustible gas,
photoionization detectors, electrochemical gas sensors, ultrasonic
sensors, metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) sensors, infrared imaging
sensors, a combination thereof, or another undisclosed type of gas
sensor alone or in combination. Sensor 112 may include sensors that
are configured to detect non-gaseous byproducts of cell failure
including, in non-limiting examples, liquid chemical leaks
including aqueous alkaline solution, ionomer, molten phosphoric
acid, liquid electrolytes with redox shuttle and ionomer, and salt
water, among others. Sensor 112 may include sensors that are
configured to detect non-gaseous byproducts of cell failure
including, in non-limiting examples, electrical anomalies as
detected by any of the previous disclosed sensors or
components.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 may be configured to
detect events where voltage nears an upper voltage threshold or
lower voltage threshold. The upper voltage threshold may be stored
in data storage system for comparison with an instant measurement
taken by any combination of sensors present within sensor 112. The
upper voltage threshold may be calculated and calibrated based on
factors relating to battery cell health, maintenance history,
location within battery pack, designed application, and type, among
others. Sensor 112 may measure voltage at an instant, over a period
of time, or periodically. Sensor 112 may be configured to operate
at any of these detection modes, switch between modes, or
simultaneous measure in more than one mode. First battery
management component may detect through sensor 112 events where
voltage nears the lower voltage threshold. The lower voltage
threshold may indicate power loss to or from an individual battery
cell or portion of the battery pack. First battery management
component may detect through sensor 112 events where voltage
exceeds the upper and lower voltage threshold. Events where voltage
exceeds the upper and lower voltage threshold may indicate battery
cell failure or electrical anomalies that could lead to potentially
dangerous situations for aircraft and personnel that may be present
in or near its operation.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, one or more sensors including
sensor 112 may be communicatively connected to at least a pilot
control, the manipulation of which, may constitute at least an
aircraft command. "Communicative connecting", for the purposes of
this disclosure, refers to two or more components electrically, or
otherwise connected and configured to transmit and receive signals
from one another. Signals may include electrical, electromagnetic,
visual, audio, radio waves, or another undisclosed signal type
alone or in combination. Any datum or signal herein may include an
electrical signal. Electrical signals may include analog signals,
digital signals, periodic or aperiodic signal, step signals, unit
impulse signal, unit ramp signal, unit parabolic signal, signum
function, exponential signal, rectangular signal, triangular
signal, sinusoidal signal, sinc function, or pulse width modulated
signal. At least a sensor may include circuitry, computing devices,
electronic components or a combination thereof that translates
input datum into at least an electronic signal configured to be
transmitted to another electronic component. At least a sensor
communicatively connected to at least a pilot control may include a
sensor disposed on, near, around or within at least pilot control.
At least a sensor may include an acoustic sensor including a
microphone, piezoelectric sensor, diaphragm, or other acoustic
sensors alone or in combination, for example and without
limitation. At least a sensor may include a motion sensor. "Motion
sensor", for the purposes of this disclosure refers to a device or
component configured to detect physical movement of an object or
grouping of objects. One of ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate, after reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, that
motion may include a plurality of types including but not limited
to: spinning, rotating, oscillating, gyrating, jumping, sliding,
reciprocating, or the like. At least a sensor may include, torque
sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, torque sensor, magnetometer,
inertial measurement unit (IMU), pressure sensor, force sensor,
proximity sensor, displacement sensor, vibration sensor, among
others. At least a sensor may include a sensor suite which may
include a plurality of sensors that may detect similar or unique
phenomena. For example, in a non-limiting embodiment, sensor suite
may include a plurality of accelerometers, a mixture of
accelerometers and gyroscopes, or a mixture of an accelerometer,
gyroscope, and torque sensor.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, any of the sensors described
herein may be included within a sense board, wherein the sense
board may include sensors configured to measure physical and/or
electrical parameters, such as without limitation temperature
and/or voltage, of one or more the battery cells. Sense board
and/or a control circuit incorporated therein and/or
communicatively connected thereto, may further be configured to
detect failure within each battery cell, for instance and without
limitation as a function of and/or using detected physical and/or
electrical parameters. Cell failure may be characterized by a spike
in temperature and sense board may be configured to detect that
increase and generate signals, which are discussed further below,
to notify users, support personnel, safety personnel, maintainers,
operators, emergency personnel, aircraft computers, or a
combination thereof. Sense board may include thermocouples,
thermistors, thermometers, passive infrared sensors, resistance
temperature sensors (RTD's), semiconductor based integrated
circuits (IC), a combination thereof or another undisclosed sensor
type, alone or in combination. Temperature, for the purposes of
this disclosure, and as would be appreciated by someone of ordinary
skill in the art, is a measure of the heat energy of a system. Heat
energy is, at its core, the measure of kinetic energy of matter
present within a system. Temperature, as measured by any number or
combinations of sensors present on a sense board, may be measured
in Fahrenheit (.degree. F.), Celsius (.degree. C.), Kelvin
(.degree. K), or another scale alone or in combination. The
temperature measured by sensors may include electrical signals
which are transmitted to their appropriate destination wireless or
through a wired connection.
Further referring to FIG. 1, alternatively or additionally, and
with continued reference to FIG. 1, a sense board may detect
voltage and direct the charging of individual the battery cells
according to charge level; detection may be performed using any
suitable component, set of components, and/or mechanism for direct
or indirect measurement and/or detection of voltage levels,
including without limitation comparators, analog to digital
converters, any form of voltmeter, or the like.
Further referring to FIG. 1, system 100 may include one or more
computing devices such as a sense board and/or a control circuit
incorporated therein and/or communicatively connected thereto may
be configured to adjust charge to at least one battery cell of the
plurality of the battery cells as a function of the detected
parameter; this may include adjustment in charge as a function of
detection of a charge reduction event. Alternatively or
additionally, sense board and/or a control circuit incorporated
therein and/or communicatively connected thereto may be configured
to increase charge to a cell upon detection that a charge reduction
event has ceased; for instance, sense board and/or a control
circuit incorporated therein and/or communicatively connected
thereto may detect that a temperature of a subject battery cell has
dropped below a threshold, and may increase charge again. Charge
may be regulate using any suitable means for regulation of voltage
and/or current, including without limitation use of a voltage
and/or current regulating component, including one that may be
electrically controlled such as a transistor; transistors may
include without limitation bipolar junction transistors (BJTs),
field effect transistors (FETs), metal oxide field semiconductor
field effect transistors (MOSFETs), and/or any other suitable
transistor or similar semiconductor element. Voltage and/or current
to one or more cells may alternatively or additionally be
controlled by thermistor in parallel with a cell that reduces its
resistance when a temperature of the cell increases, causing
voltage across the cell to drop, and/or by a current shunt or other
device that dissipates electrical power, for instance through a
resistor.
Still referring to FIG. 1, system 100 may include a high current
busbar and integral electrical connections. System 100 may charge
individual the battery cells depending on battery cell charge
levels. Charging may be balanced throughout the plurality of the
battery cells by directing energy through balance resistors by
dissipating current through resistors as heat. In this manner, the
battery cells may be charged evenly, for example, cells with a
lower amount of electrical energy will charge more than the battery
cells with a greater amount of energy. Cell charge balancing may be
controlled via any means described above for regulation of charge
levels, including without limitation metal oxide silicon field
effect transistor or a metal oxide semiconductor field effect
transistor (MOSFET).
With continued reference to FIG. 1, outputs from any sensors or any
other component present within system may be analog or digital.
Onboard or remotely located processors can convert those output
signals from the sensor suite to a usable form by the destination
of those signals. The usable form of output signals from sensors,
through processor may be either digital, analog, a combination
thereof or an otherwise unstated form. Processing may be configured
to trim, offset, or otherwise compensate the outputs of sensor
suite. Based on sensor output, the processor can determine the
output to send to downstream component. Processor can include
signal amplification, operational amplifier (OpAmp), filter,
digital/analog conversion, linearization circuit, current-voltage
change circuits, resistance change circuits such as Wheatstone
Bridge, an error compensator circuit, a combination thereof or
otherwise undisclosed components. Any signal as described herein
may be manipulated by one or more computing devices or components
thereof. An integrator may include an operational amplifier
configured to perform a mathematical operation of integration of a
signal; output voltage may be proportional to input voltage
integrated over time. An input current may be offset by a negative
feedback current flowing in the capacitor, which may be generated
by an increase in output voltage of the amplifier. The output
voltage may be therefore dependent on the value of input current it
has to offset and the inverse of the value of the feedback
capacitor. The greater the capacitor value, the less output voltage
has to be generated to produce a particular feedback current flow.
The input impedance of the circuit may be almost zero because of
the Miller effect. Hence all the stray capacitances (the cable
capacitance, the amplifier input capacitance, etc.) are virtually
grounded and they have no influence on the output signal. An
operational amplifier as used in an integrator may be used as part
of a positive or negative feedback amplifier or as an adder or
subtractor type circuit using just pure resistances in both the
input and the feedback loop. As its name implies, the Op-amp
Integrator is an operational amplifier circuit that causes the
output to respond to changes in the input voltage over time as the
op-amp produces an output voltage which may be proportional to the
integral of the input voltage. In other words, the magnitude of the
output signal may be determined by the length of time a voltage may
be present at its input as the current through the feedback loop
charges or discharges the capacitor as the required negative
feedback occurs through the capacitor. Input voltage may be Vin and
represent the input signal to processor such as one or more of
input datum and/or attitude error. Output voltage Vout may
represent output voltage such as one or more outputs like rate
setpoint. When a step voltage, Vin may be firstly applied to the
input of an integrating amplifier, the uncharged capacitor C has
very little resistance and acts a bit like a short circuit allowing
maximum current to flow via the input resistor, Rin as potential
difference exists between the two plates. No current flows into the
amplifiers input and point X may be a virtual earth resulting in
zero output. As the impedance of the capacitor at this point may be
very low, the gain ratio of X.sub.C/R.sub.IN may be also very small
giving an overall voltage gain of less than one, (voltage follower
circuit). As the feedback capacitor, C begins to charge up due to
the influence of the input voltage, its impedance Xc slowly
increase in proportion to its rate of charge. The capacitor charges
up at a rate determined by the RC time constant, (.tau.) of the
series RC network. Negative feedback forces the op-amp to produce
an output voltage that maintains a virtual earth at the op-amp's
inverting input. Since the capacitor may be connected between the
op-amp's inverting input (which may be at virtual ground potential)
and the op-amp's output (which may be now negative), the potential
voltage, ye developed across the capacitor slowly increases causing
the charging current to decrease as the impedance of the capacitor
increases. This results in the ratio of Xc/Rin increasing producing
a linearly increasing ramp output voltage that continues to
increase until the capacitor may be fully charged. At this point
the capacitor acts as an open circuit, blocking any more flow of DC
current. The ratio of feedback capacitor to input resistor
(X.sub.C/R.sub.IN) may be now infinite resulting in infinite gain.
The result of this high gain, similar to the op-amps open-loop
gain, may be that the output of the amplifier goes into saturation
as shown below. (Saturation occurs when the output voltage of the
amplifier swings heavily to one voltage supply rail or the other
with little or no control in between). The rate at which the output
voltage increases (the rate of change) may be determined by the
value of the resistor and the capacitor, "RC time constant". By
changing this RC time constant value, either by changing the value
of the Capacitor, C or the Resistor, R, the time in which it takes
the output voltage to reach saturation can also be changed for
example.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, sensor 112 and/or proximity
sensor 116 is configured to detect a status datum 124. For the
purposes of this disclosure, a "status datum" at least an element
of data that represents an operating status of at least a portion
of an energy storage device, namely battery module 104 and/or at
least a battery cell 108. Status datum 124 may be any one or more
elements of data that correspond to the health of at least a
portion of battery module 104 or at least a battery cell 108.
Status datum 104 may be one or more parameters associated with the
health, age, electrical characteristics, physical characteristics,
calculations derived therefrom, or predictions associated with the
battery module 104 and/or at least a battery cell 108 according to
the detected parameters, among others. Status datum 124 may include
one or more elements of data corresponding to failure of at least a
battery cell 108 or another portion of battery module 104. Status
datum 124 may include location, type, severity, percentage, or
combination of those parameters, among others, of at least a
battery cell 108. Status datum 124 may include a percentage of
usable battery module 104 or at least a battery cell 108 that is
defective, operational, catastrophically damaged, or overheated
consistent with the entirety of this disclosure. Status datum 124
may include more than one signal corresponding to the type of
sensor from which is was detected. Status datum 124 may be
configured to be transmitted by one or more elements of system 100
through a wired or wireless connection consistent with this
disclosure to a processor 120.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, system 100 includes processor
120. Processor 120 may include one or more computing devices and/or
one or more controller consistent with any of the one or more
computing devices or controllers in the entirety of this
disclosure. Processor 120 is configured to receive status datum 124
from the at least a sensor 112 or one or more elements
communicatively connected thereto. Processor 120 may include one or
more elements configured to receive an electrical signal in a wired
communication or wireless communication system. Processor 120 is
configured to generate a charge datum 128 as a function of status
datum 124 corresponding to the battery module 104. For the purposes
of this disclosure, a "charge datum" is one or more elements of
data related to at least a portion of battery module 104 state of
charge (SoC). For the purposes of this disclosure, "state of
charge" is the level of charge of an electric battery relative to
its capacity. The units of SoC may be percentage points (0%=empty;
100%=full). An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of
discharge (DoD), the inverse of SoC (100%=empty; 0%=full). SoC is
normally used when discussing the current state of a battery in
use, while DoD is may be often seen when discussing the lifetime of
the battery after repeated use. Charge datum 128 may be one or more
elements of data related to the charge of a battery configured for
use in an electric aircraft. In an EVTOL, for example, SoC for the
battery module 104 may be the equivalent of a fuel gauge in a
gasoline powered vehicle. Charge datum 128 may be calculated,
adjusted, searched for in a table, retrieved from a database based
on one or more detected parameters, or directly detected, among
others. In embodiments, the charge datum 128 may be compared to a
calculated charge datum as described with further reference to FIG.
2. For the purposes of this disclosure, a "calculated charge datum"
is one or more elements of data representing the predicted state of
charge of at least a portion of an energy storage device,
calculated by a computing device as a function of time.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, processor 120 is configured to
generate a health datum 132 as a function of status datum 124
corresponding to the at least a battery module 104. Processor 120
may be configured to generate health datum 132 as a function of
status datum 124 corresponding to the at least a battery cell 108.
For the purposes of this disclosure, a "health datum" includes one
or more elements of data related to the state of health (SoH) of
battery module 104 or at least a battery cell 108. For the purposes
of this disclosure, "state of health" is a figure of merit of the
condition of a battery (or a cell, or a battery pack), compared to
its ideal conditions. The units of SoH are percent points (100%=the
battery's conditions match the battery's specifications).
Typically, a battery's SoH will be 100% at the time of manufacture
and will decrease over time and use. However, a battery's
performance at the time of manufacture may not meet its
specifications, in which case its initial SoH will be less than
100%. In exemplary embodiments, one or more elements of system 100
including but not limited to processor 120 may evaluate state of
health of the portion of battery corresponding to health datum 132.
Health datum 132 may be compared to a threshold health datum
corresponding to the parameter detected to generate said health
datum 132. Health datum 132 may be utilized to determine, by
processor 120, the suitability of battery module 104 to a given
application, such as aircraft flight envelope, mission, cargo
capacity, speed, maneuvers, or the like. Health datum 132 may
include a useful life estimate corresponding to the at least a
battery module 104. For the purposes of this disclosure, a "useful
life estimate" is one or more elements of data indicating a
remaining usability of one or more elements of an energy storage
device, wherein the usability is a function of whether or not the
one or more energy storage elements may be used in performing their
designed functions. Useful life estimate may include one or more
elements of data related to the remaining use of the battery module
104. Useful life estimate may include a time limit, usage limit,
amperage per time parameter, electric parameter, internal
resistance, impedance, conductance, capacity, voltage,
self-discharge, ability to accept a charge, number of
charge-discharge cycles, age of battery, temperature of battery
during previous uses, current or future temperature limitations,
total energy charged, total energy discharge, or predictions of
failures corresponding to the battery module 104. Processor 120 may
be configured to select a datum of a plurality of data and utilize
the datum to determine charge datum 128 and health datum 132.
Processor 120 may select data collected from one or more sensors
described herein or one or more elements of data input to a system
from which processor 120 may retrieve. Processor 120 may be
communicatively connected to one or more databases, datastores,
lists, matrices, and/or groups that represent and organize data
associated with a battery module 104. Processor 120 is configured
to transmit the charge datum 128 and health datum 132 to one or
more other elements included by system 100 configured to receive
one or more elements of data.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, any datum or data described
herein, as well as any other signal or information as described
herein, alone or in combination may be represented in any suitable
form, including, without limitation, vectors, matrices,
coefficients, scores, ranks, or other numerical comparators, and
the like. A "vector" as defined in this disclosure is a data
structure that represents one or more quantitative values and/or
measures of forces, torques, signals, commands, or any other data
structure as described in the entirety of this disclosure. A vector
may be represented as an n-tuple of values, where n is at least two
values, as described in further detail below; a vector may
alternatively or additionally be represented as an element of a
vector space, defined as a set of mathematical objects that can be
added together under an operation of addition following properties
of associativity, commutativity, existence of an identity element,
and existence of an inverse element for each vector, and can be
multiplied by scalar values under an operation of scalar
multiplication compatible with field multiplication, and that has
an identity element is distributive with respect to vector
addition, and may be distributive with respect to field addition.
Each value of n-tuple of values may represent a measurement or
other quantitative value associated with a given category of data,
or attribute, examples of which are provided in further detail
below; a vector may be represented, without limitation, in
n-dimensional space using an axis per category of value represented
in n-tuple of values, such that a vector has a geometric direction
characterizing the relative quantities of attributes in the n-tuple
as compared to each other. Two vectors may be considered equivalent
where their directions, and/or the relative quantities of values
within each vector as compared to each other, are the same; thus,
as a non-limiting example, a vector represented as [5, 10, 15] may
be treated as equivalent, for purposes of this disclosure, as a
vector represented as [1, 2, 3]. Vectors may be more similar where
their directions are more similar, and more different where their
directions are more divergent; however, vector similarity may
alternatively or additionally be determined using averages of
similarities between like attributes, or any other measure of
similarity suitable for any n-tuple of values, or aggregation of
numerical similarity measures for the purposes of loss functions as
described in further detail below. Any vectors as described herein
may be scaled, such that each vector represents each attribute
along an equivalent scale of values. Each vector may be
"normalized," or divided by a "length" attribute, such as a length
attribute l as derived using a Pythagorean norm:
.times..times. ##EQU00001## where a.sub.i is attribute number i of
the vector. Scaling and/or normalization may function to make
vector comparison independent of absolute quantities of attributes,
while preserving any dependency on similarity of attributes. One of
ordinary skill in the art would appreciate a vector to be a
mathematical value consisting of a direction and magnitude.
Electrical signals may include analog signals, digital signals,
periodic or aperiodic signal, step signals, unit impulse signal,
unit ramp signal, unit parabolic signal, signum function,
exponential signal, rectangular signal, triangular signal,
sinusoidal signal, sinc function, or pulse width modulated signal.
At least a sensor may include circuitry, computing devices,
electronic components or a combination thereof that translates any
phenomena or combination thereof into at least a datum configured
to be transmitted to any other electronic component. "Logic
circuits", for the purposes of this disclosure, refer to an
arrangement of electronic components such as diodes or transistors
acting as electronic switches configured to act on one or more
binary inputs that produce a single binary output. Logic circuits
may include devices such as multiplexers, registers, arithmetic
logic units (ALUs), computer memory, and microprocessors, among
others. In modern practice, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistors (MOSFETs) may be implemented as logic circuit
components. Communicative connecting may be performed via a bus or
other facility for intercommunication between elements of a
computing device. Communicative connecting may include indirect
connections via "wireless" connection, low power wide area network,
radio communication, optical communication, magnetic, capacitive,
or optical coupling, or the like. At least pilot control may
include buttons, switches, or other binary inputs in addition to,
or alternatively than digital controls about which a plurality of
inputs may be received.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, system 100 includes a display
136. Display 136 is configured to receive the charge datum 128 and
health datum 132 corresponding to the at least a battery module
104. In non-limiting examples, display 136 may include a primary
flight display (PFD), multi-function display (MFD), heads-up
display (HUD), holograph, projection, gauges, audio cues, video
cues, data streams, displayed in a pilot's goggles or helmet, and
the like. The details of the display layout on a primary flight
display can vary enormously, depending on the aircraft, the
aircraft's manufacturer, the specific model of PFD, certain
settings chosen by the pilot, and various internal options that are
selected by the aircraft's owner (i.e., an airline, in the case of
a large airliner). However, the great majority of PFDs follow a
similar layout convention. The center of the PFD usually contains
an attitude indicator (AI), which gives the pilot information about
the aircraft's pitch and roll characteristics, and the orientation
of the aircraft with respect to the horizon. Unlike a traditional
attitude indicator, however, the mechanical gyroscope is not
contained within the panel itself, but is rather a separate device
whose information is simply displayed on the PFD. Attitude
indicator is designed to look very much like traditional mechanical
AIs. Other information that may or may not appear on or about the
attitude indicator can include the stall angle, a runway diagram,
ILS localizer and glide-path "needles", and so on. Unlike
mechanical instruments, this information can be dynamically updated
as required; the stall angle, for example, can be adjusted in real
time to reflect the calculated critical angle of attack of the
aircraft in its current configuration (airspeed, etc.). The PFD may
also show an indicator of the aircraft's future path (over the next
few seconds), as calculated by onboard computers, making it easier
for pilots to anticipate aircraft movements and reactions. To the
left and right of the attitude indicator are usually the airspeed
and altitude indicators, respectively. Airspeed indicator displays
the speed of the aircraft in knots, while the altitude indicator
displays the aircraft's altitude above mean sea level (AMSL). These
measurements are conducted through the aircraft's pitot system,
which tracks air pressure measurements. As in the PFD's attitude
indicator, these systems are merely displayed data from the
underlying mechanical systems, and do not contain any mechanical
parts (unlike an aircraft's airspeed indicator and altimeter). Both
of these indicators are usually presented as vertical "tapes",
which scroll up and down as altitude and airspeed change. Both
indicators may often have "bugs", that is, indicators that show
various important speeds and altitudes, such as V speeds calculated
by a flight management system, do-not-exceed speeds for the current
configuration, stall speeds, selected altitudes and airspeeds for
the autopilot, and so on. At the bottom of the PFD is the heading
display, which shows the pilot the magnetic heading of the
aircraft. This functions much like a standard magnetic heading
indicator, turning as required. Often this part of the display
shows not only the current heading, but also the current track
(actual path over the ground), rate of turn, current heading
setting on the autopilot, and other indicators. Other information
displayed on the PFD includes navigational marker information, bugs
(to control the autopilot), ILS glideslope indicators, course
deviation indicators, altitude indicator QFE settings, and much
more. Although the layout of a PFD can be very complex, once a
pilot is accustomed to it the PFD can provide an enormous amount of
information with a single glance. Any of the herein described PFD
layouts or components may display, in whole or in part, charge
datum 128 and health datum 132.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, display 136 may include a
multi-function display (MFD). An MFD may be a small-screen
surrounded by configurable buttons that can be used to display
information to the user in numerous configurable ways. An MFD may
be configured to display any one or more elements of data including
status datum 124, charge datum 128, health datum 132, or a
combination thereof, among others. Display 136 may be configured to
display the useful life estimate corresponding to the at least a
battery module 104. Display 136 may be configured to inform one or
more other systems bidirectionally connected thereto of status
datum 124, charge datum 128, and/or health datum 132. For the
purposes of this disclosure, "bidirectionally connected" is a
communication arrangement wherein the connected systems, circuits,
subsystems, computing devices, processors, chips, or any other
combination of components may transmit data to and from the other.
Bidirectional connection does limit the components to only two, and
therefore any number of components may be connected to transmit and
receive data from any and all of the other connected components.
Bidirectional connection may be configured to transmit and receive
one or more signals consistent with the description of any signal
herein.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of processor 200
generating a charge datum and a health datum related to a battery
module. Processor 200 receives status datum 204 from at least a
sensor as described herein above. Processor 200 may retrieve one or
more elements of data from State of Health Lookup Table 208 that
correspond to one or more elements of data represented by status
datum 204. For example, and without limitation, status datum 204
may represent a distance from one or more components within an
expanded battery cell, SoH Lookup Table 208 may have data and other
information corresponding to that distance wherein the data
represents health datum 224. Alternatively, or additionally,
processor 200 may generate, calculate, or retrieve firsthand health
datum 224. Additionally, processor 200 calculates charge datum 216
as a function of status datum 204 consistent with the disclosure
herein. Controller 220 may retrieve one or more elements of data
from State of Charge Lookup Table 212. Processor 200 may compare
charge datum 216 to a retrieved one or more elements of data to
verify charge datum 216 is a valid representation of state of
charge of one or more elements of battery. Additionally, processor
200 may compare charge datum 216 to a calculated charge datum as
defined hereinabove. A calculated charge datum may be calculated by
one or more computing devices as a function of time. A calculated
charge datum may include a prediction of the SoC of an ideal or
other model of an energy storage system degrading at normal rates
over time and use. For example and without limitation, a calculated
charge datum may be generated as a function of flight hours,
manufacture date, or another measurement of time of use of the
energy storage system. The calculated charge datum may be retrieved
from a separate or common lookup table as SoC lookup table 212, a
database or suitable datastore, input by a computer or other user
after calculation, a combination thereof, or another undisclosed
location. Processor 200 may transmit the SoC Lookup Table 212 data
value and charge datum 216 to voting module 220. Voting module 220
may determine if charge datum 216 and data retrieved from SoC
Lookup Table 212 to verify charge datum is within an expected
range, at an expected frequency, retrieved from an expected
grouping or number of sensors or components, and verify if detected
data have been detected within an expected time range, thereby
verifying the data is representative of a current state of charge.
Voting module 220 may ban one or more elements that do not transmit
data in any of the above-mentioned expected ranges. Voting module
220 may exclude banned sensor or components data to further filter
data from only trusted sources. Voting module 220 may be use a
similar methodology as disclosed by U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 17/218,387 filed on Mar. 31, 2021 and titled "A METHOD AND
SYSTEM FOR FLY-BY-WIRE FLIGHT CONTROL CONFIGURED FOR USE IN AN
ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT" which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety. It should be noted that the voting algorithm as described
in the referenced application and herein may have a predetermined
or user-input thresholds for banning and unbanning components
producing untrustworthy data. Processor 200 or any other computing
device may perform the functions of voting module 220 for any type
of sensor and any type of outputs for that data such as charge
datum and/or health datum.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, processor 200 may transmit
health datum 224 and the charge datum 216 as voted by voting module
220 to pilot display 228. Pilot display 228 may be consistent with
the description of pilot displays hereinabove.
Referring now to FIG. 3, portion of battery cell 300 is represented
in section view. Portion of battery cell 300 is not limited to the
arrangement and components represented in FIG. 3. Portion of
battery cell 300 is only a segment of a full battery cell and
therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the
dash broken lines represent extending beyond the depiction, but
this segment is an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Portion
of battery cell 300 includes compression element 304. Compression
element 304 may be one or more structural features designed and
configured to compress (i.e., move closer together) within portion
of battery cell 300 with use and age. Compression element 300 may
be disposed transverse to compression direction and parallel to the
next proximate compression element 300. Compression element 304 may
be parallel and regularly disposed between at least two endplates
disposed opposite and parallel at the ends of the battery cell.
Compression element 304 may be foam, composite, various
thermoplastics, corrugated metals, non-conductive or semiconductive
material, or a combination thereof. Compression element 304 may
include one or more materials not disclosed herein and is not
limited to the embodiments shown and described. Portion of battery
cell 300 includes compression alignment guide 308. For the purposes
of this disclosure, a "compression alignment guide" is a feature or
set of features that mate with one another on opposing compression
elements configured to hold the one or more elements of a battery
cell in relative alignment during compression and/or expansion of
the battery cell. In a non-limiting embodiment, compression
alignment guide 308 may include a pin portion disposed
perpendicular to a first compression element, and a receptable
disposed perpendicular to a second and proximate compression
element and parallel and coincident with pin portion. Pin portion
may be captured wholly or partly by the receptable. As portion of
battery cell 300 compresses, and compression element 304 get closer
together, compression alignment guide 308 serve as to hold
compression alignment guide 308 perpendicular to the next as they
compress. In this way compression alignment guide 308 prevents
tilted or otherwise uneven compression and therefore extends the
life of battery cell by ensuring the longest duration of
compression possible.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, portion of battery cell 300
includes at least a sensor 312 as described hereinabove. At least a
sensor 312 may be a proximity sensor as described herein and detect
the distance between a compression element proximate to the
compression element to which the at least a sensor 312 is
mechanically connected. As described herein, proximity sensor may
detect a threshold distance, a change in distance, or combination
thereof consistent with the entirety of this disclosure. Portion of
battery cell 300 may include expansion element 316. Expansion
element 316 may include one or more materials configured to reduce
compression of relative compression elements 304. Expansion element
316 may include rubber, plastic, metals and metal alloys, polymers,
foams, or a combination thereof to produce an opposite and opposing
force of compressing compression elements 304. Portion of battery
cell 300 may include module strap 320. For the purposes of this
disclosure, a "module strap" is an element of at least a battery
cell configured to secure the battery cell to maintain its shape
and the relative position of its constituent parts while conducting
energy through it. Module strap 320 may include a bus bar. Module
strap 320 may be consistent with the description of any bus bar as
described herein. Module strap 320 may include one or more
electrically conductive materials in one or more configurations
including wires, strips, blocks, straps, strands, or the like.
Module strap 320 may be configured to convey energy from one
portion of battery cell 300 to another portion of battery cell 300.
Module strap 32o may be configured to convey energy from one
battery cell to another battery cell, from one battery module to
another battery module, or a combination thereof, among others.
Module strap 320 may include one or more flexible or rigid elements
spanning the length of a portion of battery cell 300 configured to
hold portion of battery cell 300 together from its ends as
described herein. Module strap 320 may be disposed on or over at
least a portion of battery module and therefore portion of battery
cell 300. Module strap 320 may include nylon, neoprene, plastics,
woven polymers, metals, rubbers, and the like to compress portion
of battery cell 300. Module strap 320 may be disposed on a first
end plate and mechanically connected thereto. Module strap 320 may
be disposed on a second end plate disposed opposite and parallel to
the first end plate. End plates (not depicted) may be disposed on
opposite and opposing ends of a battery cell.
Referring now to FIG. 4, a method for state determination of a
battery module configured for use in an electric vehicle includes,
at 405, detecting, at an at least a sensor, a status datum
corresponding to at least a battery module. Sensor may be
consistent with any sensor as described herein. Sensor may include
or be included by a sensor suite. The sensor may include a pressure
sensor. Battery module may be consistent with any battery module as
described herein. Battery module may include a module strap
disposed on a first endplate and a second endplate configured to
secure the first end plate and the second end plate. Battery module
may include a first endplate disposed at a first end and a second
endplate disposed at a second end. Battery module may include a
compression alignment guide disposed between adjacent compression
elements. Compression elements may be consistent with any
compression element as described herein. Compression alignment
guide may be consistent with any compression alignment guide as
described herein.
Still referring to FIG. 4, at 410, includes receiving, at a
processor, a status datum corresponding to at least a battery
module. Processor may be consistent with any processor as described
herein. Status datum may be consistent with any status datum as
described herein. Processor may be configured to select a datum of
a plurality of data and utilize the datum to determine a charge
datum and a health datum. Charge datum and health datum may be
consistent with any charge datum and health datum as described
herein.
Still referring to FIG. 4, at 415, includes generating, at the
processor, a charge datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module. Charge datum may be
consistent with any charge datum as described herein. Status datum
may be consistent with any status datum as described herein.
Processor may be consistent with any processor as described herein.
Processor may be configured to compare the charge datum to a
calculated charge datum. Calculated charge datum may be consistent
with any comparison of charge datums as described herein.
Still referring to FIG. 4, at 420, includes generating, at the
processor, a health datum as a function of the status datum
corresponding to the at least a battery module. Health datum may be
consistent with any health datum as described herein. Health datum
may include a useful life estimate corresponding to the at least a
battery module. Useful life estimate may be consistent with any
useful life estimate as described herein.
Still referring to FIG. 4, at 425, includes receiving, at a pilot
display, the charge datum and the health datum. Transmission of
signals may be consistent with any transmission of signals as
described herein. Pilot display may be consistent with any pilot
display as described herein. Charge datum may be consistent with
any charge datum as described herein. Health datum may be
consistent with any health datum as described herein.
Still referring to FIG. 4, at 430, includes displaying, at the
pilot display, the charge datum and the health datum. Pilot display
may be consistent with any pilot display as described herein.
Charge datum may be consistent with any charge datum as described
herein. Health datum may be consistent with any health datum as
described herein. Pilot display may display the useful life
estimate corresponding to the at least a battery module. Useful
life estimate may be consistent with any useful life estimate as
described herein. Battery module may be consistent with any battery
module as described herein.
Referring now to FIG. 5, an exemplary embodiment of battery module
500 is illustrated. In embodiments, each circle illustrated
represents a battery cell's circular cross-section. A battery cell,
which will be adequately described below may take a plurality of
forms, but for the purposes of these illustrations and disclosure,
will be represented by a cylinder, with circles in representing the
cross section of one cell each. With this orientation, a
cylindrical battery cell has a long axis not visible in
illustration. Battery cells are disposed in a staggered
arrangement, with one battery unit including two columns of
staggered cells. Each battery unit includes at least the cell
retainer including a sheet of material with holes in a staggered
pattern corresponding to the staggered orientation of cells. Cell
retainer is the component which fixes the battery cells in their
orientation amongst the entirety of the battery module. Cell
retainer also includes two columns of staggered holes corresponding
to the battery cells. There is the cell guide disposed between each
set of two columns of the battery cells underneath the cell
retainer. Battery module can include a protective wrapping which
weaves in between the two columns of the battery cells contained in
a battery unit.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, battery module 500 may include
a sense board, a side panel, an end cap, electrical bus, and
openings are presented. In an embodiment, a sense board is
illustrated in its entirety. A sense board may include at least a
portion of a circuit board that includes one or more sensors
configured to measure the temperature of the battery cells disposed
within battery module 500. In embodiments, sensor board may include
one or more openings disposed in rows and column on a surface of
sense board. In embodiments, each hole may correspond to the
battery cells disposed within, encapsulated, at least in part, by
battery units. For example, the location of each hole may
correspond to the location of each battery cell disposed within
battery module 500.
Referring still to FIG. 5, according to embodiment, battery module
500 can include one or more side panels. A side panel can include a
protective layer of material configured to create a barrier between
internal components of battery module 500 and other aircraft
components or environment. A side panel may include opposite and
opposing faces that form a side of and encapsulate at least a
portion of battery module 500. A side panel may include metallic
materials like aluminum, aluminum alloys, steel alloys, copper,
tin, titanium, another undisclosed material, or a combination
thereof. A side panel may not preclude use of nonmetallic materials
alone or in combination with metallic components permanently or
temporarily coupled together. Nonmetallic materials that may be
used alone or in combination in the construction of a side panel
may include high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene,
polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene,
nylon, polystyrene, polyether ether ketone, to name a few. A side
panel may be manufactured by a number of processes alone or in
combination, including but limited to, machining, milling, forging,
casting, 3D printing (or other additive manufacturing methods),
turning, or injection molding, to name a few. One of ordinary skill
in the art would appreciate that a side panel may be manufactured
in pieces and assembled together by screws, nails, rivets, dowels,
pins, epoxy, glue, welding, crimping, or another undisclosed method
alone or in combination. A side panel may be coupled to sense
board, the back plate, and/or an end cap through standard hardware
like a bolt and nut mechanism, for example.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, battery module 500 may also
include one or more end caps. An end cap may include a
nonconductive component configured to align the back plate, sense
board, and internal battery components of battery module 500 and
hold their position. An end cap may form and end of and encapsulate
a portion of a first end of battery module 500 and a second
opposite and opposing end cap may form a second end and encapsulate
a portion of a second end of battery module 500. An end cap may
include a snap attachment mechanism further including a protruding
boss which can configured to be captured, at least in part by a
receptable of a corresponding size, by a receptacle disposed in or
on the back plate. An end cap may employ a similar or same method
for coupling itself to sense board, which may include a similar or
the same receptacle. One or ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate that the embodiments of a quick attach/detach mechanism
end cap is only an example and any number of mechanisms and methods
may be used for this purpose. It should also be noted that other
mechanical coupling mechanisms may be used that are not necessarily
designed for quick removal. Said mechanical coupling may include,
as a non-limiting example, rigid coupling (e.g. beam coupling),
bellows coupling, bushed pin coupling, constant velocity,
split-muff coupling, diaphragm coupling, disc coupling, donut
coupling, elastic coupling, flexible coupling, fluid coupling, gear
coupling, grid coupling, hirth joints, hydrodynamic coupling, jaw
coupling, magnetic coupling, Oldham coupling, sleeve coupling,
tapered shaft lock, twin spring coupling, rag joint coupling,
universal joints, or any combination thereof. An end cap may
include a nonconductive component manufactured from or by a process
that renders it incapable or unsuitable for conveying electrical
through, on, or over it. Nonconductive materials an end cap may
include may be paper, Teflon, glass, rubber, fiberglass, porcelain,
ceramic, quartz, various plastics like HDPE, ABS, among others
alone or in combination.
Still referring to FIG. 5, an end cap may include an electrical
bus. An electrical bus, for the purposes of this disclosure and in
electrical parlance is any common connection to which any number of
loads, which may be connected in parallel, and share a relatively
similar voltage may be electrically coupled. Electrical bus may
refer to power busses, audio busses, video busses, computing
address busses, and/or data busses. Electrical bus may be
responsible for conveying electrical energy stored in battery
module 500 to at least a portion of an eVTOL aircraft. The same or
a distinct electrical bus may additionally or alternatively
responsible for conveying electrical signals generated by any
number of components within battery module 500 to any destination
on or offboard an eVTOL aircraft. An end cap may include wiring or
conductive surfaces only in portions required to electrically
couple electrical bus to electrical power or necessary circuits to
convey that power or signals to their destinations.
Still referring to FIG. 5, and in embodiments, a battery module
with multiple battery units is illustrated, according to
embodiments. Battery module 500 may include a battery cell, the
cell retainer, a cell guide, a protective wrapping, a back plate,
an end cap, and a side panel. Battery module 500 may include a
plurality of the battery cells. In embodiments, the battery cells
may be disposed and/or arranged within a respective battery unit in
groupings of any number of columns and rows. For example, in the
illustrative embodiment of FIG. 5, the battery cells are arranged
in each respective battery unit with 18 cells in two columns. It
should be noted that although the illustration may be interpreted
as containing rows and columns, that the groupings of the battery
cells in a battery unit, that the rows are only present as a
consequence of the repetitive nature of the pattern of staggered
the battery cells and battery cell holes in the cell retainer being
aligned in a series. While in the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 5
the battery cells are arranged 18 to a battery unit with a
plurality of battery units including battery module 500, one of
skill in the art will understand that the battery cells may be
arranged in any number to a row and in any number of columns and
further, any number of battery units may be present in battery
module 500. According to embodiments, the battery cells within a
first column may be disposed and/or arranged such that they are
staggered relative to the battery cells within a second column. In
this way, any two adjacent rows of the battery cells may not be
laterally adjacent but instead may be respectively offset a
predetermined distance. In embodiments, any two adjacent rows of
the battery cells may be offset by a distance equal to a radius of
a battery cell. This arrangement of the battery cells is only a
non-limiting example and in no way preclude other arrangement of
the battery cells.
Battery module 500 may also include a protective wrapping woven
between the plurality of the battery cells. Protective wrapping may
provide fire protection, thermal containment, and thermal runaway
during a battery cell malfunction or within normal operating limits
of one or more the battery cells and/or potentially, battery module
500 as a whole. Battery module 500 may also include a backplate. A
backplate is configured to provide structure and encapsulate at
least a portion of the battery cells, the cell retainers, the cell
guides, and protective wraps. End cap may be configured to
encapsulate at least a portion of the battery cells, the cell
retainers, the cell guides, and battery units, as will be discussed
further below, end cap may include a protruding boss that clicks
into receivers in both ends of the back plate, as well as a similar
boss on a second end that clicks into sense board. Side panel may
provide another structural element with two opposite and opposing
faces and further configured to encapsulate at least a portion of
the battery cells, the cell retainers, the cell guides, and battery
units.
In embodiments, battery module 500 can include one or more the
battery cells. In another embodiment, battery module 500 includes a
plurality of individual the battery cells. Battery cells may each
include a cell configured to include an electrochemical reaction
that produces electrical energy sufficient to power at least a
portion of an eVTOL aircraft. Battery cell may include
electrochemical cells, galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel
cells, flow cells, voltaic cells, or any combination thereof--to
name a few. In embodiments, the battery cells may be electrically
connected in series, in parallel, or a combination of series and
parallel. Series connection, as used herein, includes wiring a
first terminal of a first cell to a second terminal of a second
cell and further configured to include a single conductive path for
electricity to flow while maintaining the same current (measured in
Amperes) through any component in the circuit. Battery cells may
use the term `wired`, but one of ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate that this term is synonymous with `electrically
connected`, and that there are many ways to couple electrical
elements like the battery cells together. As an example, the
battery cells can be coupled via prefabricated terminals of a first
gender that mate with a second terminal with a second gender.
Parallel connection, as used herein, includes wiring a first and
second terminal of a first battery cell to a first and second
terminal of a second battery cell and further configured to include
more than one conductive path for electricity to flow while
maintaining the same voltage (measured in Volts) across any
component in the circuit. Battery cells may be wired in a
series-parallel circuit which combines characteristics of the
constituent circuit types to this combination circuit. Battery
cells may be electrically connected in any arrangement which may
confer onto the system the electrical advantages associated with
that arrangement such as high-voltage applications, high-current
applications, or the like. As used herein, an electrochemical cell
is a device capable of generating electrical energy from chemical
reactions or using electrical energy to cause chemical reactions.
Further, voltaic or galvanic cells are electrochemical cells that
generate electric current from chemical reactions, while
electrolytic cells generate chemical reactions via electrolysis. As
used herein, the term `battery` is used as a collection of cells
connected in series or parallel to each other. According to
embodiments and as discussed above, any two rows of the battery
cells and therefore the cell retainer openings are shifted one
half-length so that no two the battery cells are directly next to
the next along the length of the battery module 500, this is the
staggered arrangement presented in the illustrated embodiment of
FIG. 5. Cell retainer may employ this staggered arrangement to
allow more cells to be disposed closer together than in square
columns and rows like in a grid pattern. The staggered arrangement
may also be configured to allow better thermodynamic dissipation,
the methods of which may be further disclosed hereinbelow. Cell
retainer may include staggered openings that align with the battery
cells and further configured to hold the battery cells in fixed
positions. Cell retainer may include an injection molded component.
Injection molded component may include a component manufactured by
injecting a liquid into a mold and letting it solidify, taking the
shape of the mold in its hardened form. Cell retainer may include
liquid crystal polymer, polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene, polyethylene, nylon, polystyrene, polyether
ether ketone, to name a few. Cell retainer may include a second the
cell retainer fixed to the second end of the battery cells and
configured to hold the battery cells in place from both ends.
Second cell retainer may include similar or the exact same
characteristics and functions of first the cell retainer. Battery
module 500 may also include the cell guide. In embodiments, cell
guide can be configured to distribute heat that may be generated by
the battery cells. According to embodiments, battery module 500 may
also include the back plate. Back plate is configured to provide a
base structure for battery module 500 and may encapsulate at least
a portion thereof. Backplate can have any shape and includes
opposite, opposing sides with a thickness between them. In
embodiments, the back plate may include an effectively flat,
rectangular prism shaped sheet. For example, the back plate can
include one side of a larger rectangular prism which characterizes
the shape of battery module 500 as a whole. Back plate also
includes openings correlating to each battery cell of the plurality
of the battery cells. Back plate may include a lamination of
multiple layers. The layers that are laminated together may include
FR-4, a glass-reinforced epoxy laminate material, and a thermal
barrier of a similar or exact same type as disclosed hereinabove.
Back plate may be configured to provide structural support and
containment of at least a portion of battery module 500 as well as
provide fire and thermal protection. According to embodiments,
battery module 500 may also include an end cap configured to
encapsulate at least a portion of battery module 500. End cap may
provide structural support for battery module 500 and hold the back
plate in a fixed relative position compared to the overall battery
module 500. End cap may include a protruding boss on a first end
that mates up with and snaps into a receiving feature on a first
end of the back plate. End cap may include a second protruding boss
on a second end that mates up with and snaps into a receiving
feature on the sense board. Battery module 500 may also include at
least a side panel that may encapsulate two sides of battery module
500. Any side panel may include opposite and opposing faces
including a metal or composite material. Side panel(s) may provide
structural support for battery module 500 and provide a barrier to
separate battery module 500 from exterior components within
aircraft or environment.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, any of the disclosed systems,
namely battery module 500 or one or more battery packs may
incorporate provisions to dissipate heat energy present due to
electrical resistance in integral circuit. Battery module 500
includes one or more battery element modules wired in series and/or
parallel. The presence of a voltage difference and associated
amperage inevitably will increase heat energy present in and around
battery module 500 as a whole. The presence of heat energy in a
power system is potentially dangerous by introducing energy
possibly sufficient to damage mechanical, electrical, and/or other
systems present in at least a portion of exemplary aircraft 00.
Battery module 500 may include mechanical design elements, one of
ordinary skill in the art, may thermodynamically dissipate heat
energy away from battery module 500. The mechanical design may
include, but is not limited to, slots, fins, heat sinks,
perforations, a combination thereof, or another undisclosed
element.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, heat dissipation may include
material selection beneficial to move heat energy in a suitable
manner for operation of battery module 500. Certain materials with
specific atomic structures and therefore specific elemental or
alloyed properties and characteristics may be selected in
construction of battery module 500 to transfer heat energy out of a
vulnerable location or selected to withstand certain levels of heat
energy output that may potentially damage an otherwise unprotected
component. One of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the
entirety of this disclosure would understand that material
selection may include titanium, steel alloys, nickel, copper,
nickel-copper alloys such as Monel, tantalum and tantalum alloys,
tungsten and tungsten alloys such as Inconel, a combination
thereof, or another undisclosed material or combination
thereof.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, heat dissipation may include a
combination of mechanical design and material selection. The
responsibility of heat dissipation may fall upon the material
selection and design as disclosed above in regard to any component
disclosed in this paper. Battery module 500 may include similar or
identical features and materials ascribed to battery module 500 in
order to manage the heat energy produced by these systems and
components.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, according to embodiments, the
circuitry battery module 500 may include, as discussed above, may
be shielded from electromagnetic interference. The battery elements
and associated circuitry may be shielded by material such as mylar,
aluminum, copper a combination thereof, or another suitable
material. Battery module 500 and associated circuitry may include
one or more of the aforementioned materials in their inherent
construction or additionally added after manufacture for the
express purpose of shielding a vulnerable component. Battery module
500 and associated circuitry may alternatively or additionally be
shielded by location. Electrochemical interference shielding by
location includes a design configured to separate a potentially
vulnerable component from energy that may compromise the function
of said component. The location of vulnerable component may be a
physical uninterrupted distance away from an interfering energy
source, or location configured to include a shielding element
between energy source and target component. The shielding may
include an aforementioned material in this section, a mechanical
design configured to dissipate the interfering energy, and/or a
combination thereof. The shielding including material, location and
additional shielding elements may defend a vulnerable component
from one or more types of energy at a single time and instance or
include separate shielding for individual potentially interfering
energies.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, battery module 500 may be a
portion of a battery pack, the battery pack may be a power source
that is configured to store electrical energy in the form of a
plurality of battery modules, which themselves are included of a
plurality of electrochemical cells. These cells may utilize
electrochemical cells, galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel
cells, flow cells, and/or voltaic cells. In general, an
electrochemical cell is a device capable of generating electrical
energy from chemical reactions or using electrical energy to cause
chemical reactions, this disclosure will focus on the former.
Voltaic or galvanic cells are electrochemical cells that generate
electric current from chemical reactions, while electrolytic cells
generate chemical reactions via electrolysis. In general, the term
`battery` is used as a collection of cells connected in series or
parallel to each other. A battery cell may, when used in
conjunction with other cells, may be electrically connected in
series, in parallel or a combination of series and parallel. Series
connection includes wiring a first terminal of a first cell to a
second terminal of a second cell and further configured to include
a single conductive path for electricity to flow while maintaining
the same current (measured in Amperes) through any component in the
circuit. A battery cell may use the term `wired`, but one of
ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that this term is
synonymous with `electrically connected`, and that there are many
ways to couple electrical elements like the battery cells together.
An example of a connector that do not include wires may be
prefabricated terminals of a first gender that mate with a second
terminal with a second gender. Battery cells may be wired in
parallel. Parallel connection includes wiring a first and second
terminal of a first battery cell to a first and second terminal of
a second battery cell and further configured to include more than
one conductive path for electricity to flow while maintaining the
same voltage (measured in Volts) across any component in the
circuit. Battery cells may be wired in a series-parallel circuit
which combines characteristics of the constituent circuit types to
this combination circuit. Battery cells may be electrically
connected in a virtually unlimited arrangement which may confer
onto the system the electrical advantages associated with that
arrangement such as high-voltage applications, high-current
applications, or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the battery
pack include 196 battery cells in series and 18 battery cells in
parallel. This is, as someone of ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate, is only an example and the battery pack may be
configured to have a near limitless arrangement of battery cell
configurations.
With continued reference to FIG. 5, a battery pack may include a
plurality of battery modules 500. Battery modules 500 may be wired
together in series and in parallel. Battery pack may include center
sheet which may include a thin barrier. The barrier may include a
fuse connecting battery modules on either side of center sheet. The
fuse may be disposed in or on center sheet and configured to
connect to an electric circuit including a first battery module and
therefore battery unit and cells. In general, and for the purposes
of this disclosure, a fuse is an electrical safety device that
operate to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit.
As a sacrificial device, its essential component is metal wire or
strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby
interrupting energy flow. Fuse may include a thermal fuse,
mechanical fuse, blade fuse, expulsion fuse, spark gap surge
arrestor, varistor, or a combination thereof. Battery pack may also
include a side wall includes a laminate of a plurality of layers
configured to thermally insulate the plurality of battery modules
from external components of the battery pack. Side wall layers may
include materials which possess characteristics suitable for
thermal insulation as described in the entirety of this disclosure
like fiberglass, air, iron fibers, polystyrene foam, and thin
plastic films, to name a few. Side wall may additionally or
alternatively electrically insulate the plurality of battery
modules from external components of the battery pack and the layers
of which may include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), glass, asbestos,
rigid laminate, varnish, resin, paper, Teflon, rubber, and
mechanical lamina. Center sheet may be mechanically coupled to side
wall in any manner described in the entirety of this disclosure or
otherwise undisclosed methods, alone or in combination. Side wall
may include a feature for alignment and coupling to center sheet.
This feature may include a cutout, slots, holes, bosses, ridges,
channels, and/or other undisclosed mechanical features, alone or in
combination. Battery pack may also include the end panel including
a plurality of electrical connectors and further configured to fix
the battery pack in alignment with at least a side wall. End panel
may include a plurality of electrical connectors of a first gender
configured to electrically and mechanically couple to electrical
connectors of a second gender. End panel may be configured to
convey electrical energy from the battery cells to at least a
portion of an eVTOL aircraft. Electrical energy may be configured
to power at least a portion of an eVTOL aircraft or include signals
to notify aircraft computers, personnel, users, pilots, and any
others of information regarding battery health, emergencies, and/or
electrical characteristics. The plurality of electrical connectors
may include blind mate connectors, plug and socket connectors,
screw terminals, ring and spade connectors, blade connectors,
and/or an undisclosed type alone or in combination. The electrical
connectors of which the end panel includes may be configured for
power and communication purposes. A first end of the end panel may
be configured to mechanically couple to a first end of a first side
wall by a snap attachment mechanism, similar to end cap and side
panel configuration utilized in the battery module. To reiterate, a
protrusion disposed in or on the end panel may be captured, at
least in part, by a receptacle disposed in or on side wall. A
second end of the end panel may be mechanically coupled to a second
end of a second side wall in a similar or the same mechanism.
Referring now to FIG. 6, system 100, processor 200, or another
computing device or model may utilize stored data to generate any
datum as described herein. Stored data may be past status datums,
charge datums, health datums, or the like in an embodiment of the
present invention. Stored data may be input by a user, pilot,
support personnel, or another. Stored data may include algorithms
and machine-learning processes that may generate one or more datums
associated with the herein disclosed system including charge
datums, health datums, and the like. The algorithms and
machine-learning processes may be any algorithm or machine-learning
processes as described herein. Training data may be columns,
matrices, rows, blocks, spreadsheets, books, or other suitable
datastores or structures that contain correlations between past
status datums, health datums, or the like to useful life estimates.
Training data may be any training data as described below. Training
data may be past measurements detected by any sensors described
herein or another sensor or suite of sensors in combination.
Training data may be detected by onboard or offboard
instrumentation designed to detect status datum or environmental
conditions as described herein. Training data may be uploaded,
downloaded, and/or retrieved from a server prior to flight.
Training data may be generated by a computing device that may
simulate input datums suitable for use by the processor, flight
controller, controller, or other computing devices in an embodiment
of the present invention. Processor, flight controller, controller,
and/or another computing device as described in this disclosure may
train one or more machine-learning models using the training data
as described in this disclosure. Training one or more
machine-learning models consistent with the training one or more
machine learning modules as described in this disclosure.
With continued reference to FIG. 6, algorithms and machine-learning
processes may include any algorithms or machine-learning processes
as described herein. Training data may be columns, matrices, rows,
blocks, spreadsheets, books, or other suitable datastores or
structures that contain correlations between torque measurements to
obstruction datums. Training data may be any training data as
described herein. Training data may be past measurements detected
by any sensors described herein or another sensor or suite of
sensors in combination. Training data may be detected by onboard or
offboard instrumentation designed to detect environmental
conditions and measured state datums as described herein. Training
data may be uploaded, downloaded, and/or retrieved from a server
prior to flight. Training data may be generated by a computing
device that may simulate predictive datums, performance datums, or
the like suitable for use by the processor, flight controller,
controller, plant model, in an embodiment of the present invention.
Processor, flight controller, controller, and/or another computing
device as described in this disclosure may train one or more
machine-learning models using the training data as described in
this disclosure.
Still referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary embodiment of a
machine-learning module 600 that may perform one or more
machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure may be
illustrated. Machine-learning module may perform determinations,
classification, and/or analysis steps, methods, processes, or the
like as described in this disclosure using machine learning
processes. A "machine learning process," as used in this
disclosure, may be a process that automatedly uses training data
604 to generate an algorithm that will be performed by a computing
device/module to produce outputs 608 given data provided as inputs
612; this may be in contrast to a non-machine learning software
program where the commands to be executed are determined in advance
by a user and written in a programming language.
Still referring to FIG. 6, "training data," as used herein, may be
data containing correlations that a machine-learning process may
use to model relationships between two or more categories of data
elements. For instance, and without limitation, training data 604
may include a plurality of data entries, each entry representing a
set of data elements that were recorded, received, and/or generated
together; data elements may be correlated by shared existence in a
given data entry, by proximity in a given data entry, or the like.
Multiple data entries in training data 604 may evince one or more
trends in correlations between categories of data elements; for
instance, and without limitation, a higher value of a first data
element belonging to a first category of data element may tend to
correlate to a higher value of a second data element belonging to a
second category of data element, indicating a possible proportional
or other mathematical relationship linking values belonging to the
two categories. Multiple categories of data elements may be related
in training data 604 according to various correlations;
correlations may indicate causative and/or predictive links between
categories of data elements, which may be modeled as relationships
such as mathematical relationships by machine-learning processes as
described in further detail below. Training data 604 may be
formatted and/or organized by categories of data elements, for
instance by associating data elements with one or more descriptors
corresponding to categories of data elements. As a non-limiting
example, training data 604 may include data entered in standardized
forms by persons or processes, such that entry of a given data
element in a given field in a form may be mapped to one or more
descriptors of categories. Elements in training data 604 may be
linked to descriptors of categories by tags, tokens, or other data
elements; for instance, and without limitation, training data 604
may be provided in fixed-length formats, formats linking positions
of data to categories such as comma-separated value (CSV) formats
and/or self-describing formats such as extensible markup language
(XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), or the like, enabling
processes or devices to detect categories of data.
Alternatively, or additionally, and continuing to refer to FIG. 6,
training data 604 may include one or more elements that are not
categorized; that may be, training data 604 may not be formatted or
contain descriptors for some elements of data. Machine-learning
algorithms and/or other processes may sort training data 604
according to one or more categorizations using, for instance,
natural language processing algorithms, tokenization, detection of
correlated values in raw data and the like; categories may be
generated using correlation and/or other processing algorithms. As
a non-limiting example, in a corpus of text, phrases making up a
number "n" of compound words, such as nouns modified by other
nouns, may be identified according to a statistically significant
prevalence of n-grams containing such words in a particular order;
such an n-gram may be categorized as an element of language such as
a "word" to be tracked similarly to single words, generating a new
category as a result of statistical analysis. Similarly, in a data
entry including some textual data, a person's name may be
identified by reference to a list, dictionary, or other compendium
of terms, permitting ad-hoc categorization by machine-learning
algorithms, and/or automated association of data in the data entry
with descriptors or into a given format. The ability to categorize
data entries automatedly may enable the same training data 604 to
be made applicable for two or more distinct machine-learning
algorithms as described in further detail below. Training data 604
used by machine-learning module 600 may correlate any input data as
described in this disclosure to any output data as described in
this disclosure.
Further referring to FIG. 6, training data may be filtered, sorted,
and/or selected using one or more supervised and/or unsupervised
machine-learning processes and/or models as described in further
detail below; such models may include without limitation a training
data classifier 616. Training data classifier 616 may include a
"classifier," which as used in this disclosure may be a
machine-learning model as defined below, such as a mathematical
model, neural net, or program generated by a machine learning
algorithm known as a "classification algorithm," as described in
further detail below, that sorts inputs into categories or bins of
data, outputting the categories or bins of data and/or labels
associated therewith. A classifier may be configured to output at
least a datum that labels or otherwise identifies a set of data
that are clustered together, found to be close under a distance
metric as described below, or the like. Machine-learning module 600
may generate a classifier using a classification algorithm, defined
as a processes whereby a computing device and/or any module and/or
component operating thereon derives a classifier from training data
604. Classification may be performed using, without limitation,
linear classifiers such as without limitation logistic regression
and/or naive Bayes classifiers, nearest neighbor classifiers such
as k-nearest neighbors classifiers, support vector machines, least
squares support vector machines, fisher's linear discriminant,
quadratic classifiers, decision trees, boosted trees, random forest
classifiers, learning vector quantization, and/or neural
network-based classifiers. As a non-limiting example, training data
classifier 616 may classify elements of training data to classes of
deficiencies, wherein a nourishment deficiency may be categorized
to a large deficiency, a medium deficiency, and/or a small
deficiency.
Still referring to FIG. 6, machine-learning module 600 may be
configured to perform a lazy-learning process 620 and/or protocol,
which may alternatively be referred to as a "lazy loading" or
"call-when-needed" process and/or protocol, may be a process
whereby machine learning may be conducted upon receipt of an input
to be converted to an output, by combining the input and training
set to derive the algorithm to be used to produce the output on
demand. For instance, an initial set of simulations may be
performed to cover an initial heuristic and/or "first guess" at an
output and/or relationship. As a non-limiting example, an initial
heuristic may include a ranking of associations between inputs and
elements of training data 604. Heuristic may include selecting some
number of highest-ranking associations and/or training data 604
elements. Lazy learning may implement any suitable lazy learning
algorithm, including without limitation a K-nearest neighbors
algorithm, a lazy naive Bayes algorithm, or the like; persons
skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure,
will be aware of various lazy-learning algorithms that may be
applied to generate outputs as described in this disclosure,
including without limitation lazy learning applications of
machine-learning algorithms as described in further detail
below.
Alternatively or additionally, and with continued reference to FIG.
6, machine-learning processes as described in this disclosure may
be used to generate machine-learning models 624. A
"machine-learning model," as used in this disclosure, may be a
mathematical and/or algorithmic representation of a relationship
between inputs and outputs, as generated using any machine-learning
process including without limitation any process as described
above, and stored in memory; an input is submitted to a
machine-learning model 624 once created, which generates an output
based on the relationship that was derived. For instance, and
without limitation, a linear regression model, generated using a
linear regression algorithm, may compute a linear combination of
input data using coefficients derived during machine-learning
processes to calculate an output datum. As a further non-limiting
example, a machine-learning model 624 may be generated by creating
an artificial neural network, such as a convolutional neural
network including an input layer of nodes, one or more intermediate
layers, and an output layer of nodes. Connections between nodes may
be created via the process of "training" the network, in which
elements from a training data 604 set are applied to the input
nodes, a suitable training algorithm (such as Levenberg-Marquardt,
conjugate gradient, simulated annealing, or other algorithms) is
then used to adjust the connections and weights between nodes in
adjacent layers of the neural network to produce the desired values
at the output nodes. This process may be sometimes referred to as
deep learning.
Still referring to FIG. 6, machine-learning algorithms may include
at least a supervised machine-learning process 628. At least a
supervised machine-learning process 628, as defined herein, include
algorithms that receive a training set relating a number of inputs
to a number of outputs, and seek to find one or more mathematical
relations relating inputs to outputs, where each of the one or more
mathematical relations may be optimal according to some criterion
specified to the algorithm using some scoring function. For
instance, a supervised learning algorithm may include status datum
as described above as one or more inputs, charge or health datum as
an output, and a scoring function representing a desired form of
relationship to be detected between inputs and outputs; scoring
function may, for instance, seek to maximize the probability that a
given input and/or combination of elements inputs may be associated
with a given output to minimize the probability that a given input
may be not associated with a given output. Scoring function may be
expressed as a risk function representing an "expected loss" of an
algorithm relating inputs to outputs, where loss is computed as an
error function representing a degree to which a prediction
generated by the relation may be incorrect when compared to a given
input-output pair provided in training data 604. Persons skilled in
the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be
aware of various possible variations of at least a supervised
machine-learning process 628 that may be used to determine relation
between inputs and outputs. Supervised machine-learning processes
may include classification algorithms as defined above.
Further referring to FIG. 6, machine learning processes may include
at least an unsupervised machine-learning processes 632. An
unsupervised machine-learning process, as used herein, is a process
that derives inferences in datasets without regard to labels; as a
result, an unsupervised machine-learning process may be free to
discover any structure, relationship, and/or correlation provided
in the data. Unsupervised processes may not require a response
variable; unsupervised processes may be used to find interesting
patterns and/or inferences between variables, to determine a degree
of correlation between two or more variables, or the like.
Still referring to FIG. 6, machine-learning module 600 may be
designed and configured to create a machine-learning model 624
using techniques for development of linear regression models.
Linear regression models may include ordinary least squares
regression, which aims to minimize the square of the difference
between predicted outcomes and actual outcomes according to an
appropriate norm for measuring such a difference (e.g. a
vector-space distance norm); coefficients of the resulting linear
equation may be modified to improve minimization. Linear regression
models may include ridge regression methods, where the function to
be minimized includes the least-squares function plus term
multiplying the square of each coefficient by a scalar amount to
penalize large coefficients. Linear regression models may include
least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models, in
which ridge regression may be combined with multiplying the
least-squares term by a factor of 1 divided by double the number of
samples. Linear regression models may include a multi-task lasso
model wherein the norm applied in the least-squares term of the
lasso model may be the Frobenius norm amounting to the square root
of the sum of squares of all terms. Linear regression models may
include the elastic net model, a multi-task elastic net model, a
least angle regression model, a LARS lasso model, an orthogonal
matching pursuit model, a Bayesian regression model, a logistic
regression model, a stochastic gradient descent model, a perceptron
model, a passive aggressive algorithm, a robustness regression
model, a Huber regression model, or any other suitable model that
may occur to persons skilled in the art upon reviewing the entirety
of this disclosure. Linear regression models may be generalized in
an embodiment to polynomial regression models, whereby a polynomial
equation (e.g. a quadratic, cubic or higher-order equation)
providing a best predicted output/actual output fit may be sought;
similar methods to those described above may be applied to minimize
error functions, as will be apparent to persons skilled in the art
upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure.
Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, machine-learning algorithms may
include, without limitation, linear discriminant analysis.
Machine-learning algorithm may include quadratic discriminate
analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include kernel ridge
regression. Machine-learning algorithms may include support vector
machines, including without limitation support vector
classification-based regression processes. Machine-learning
algorithms may include stochastic gradient descent algorithms,
including classification and regression algorithms based on
stochastic gradient descent. Machine-learning algorithms may
include nearest neighbors algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms
may include Gaussian processes such as Gaussian Process Regression.
Machine-learning algorithms may include cross-decomposition
algorithms, including partial least squares and/or canonical
correlation analysis. Machine-learning algorithms may include naive
Bayes methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include algorithms
based on decision trees, such as decision tree classification or
regression algorithms. Machine-learning algorithms may include
ensemble methods such as bagging meta-estimator, forest of
randomized tress, AdaBoost, gradient tree boosting, and/or voting
classifier methods. Machine-learning algorithms may include neural
net algorithms, including convolutional neural net processes.
With continued reference to FIG. 6, an "objective function," as
used in this disclosure, is a mathematical function with a solution
set including a plurality of data elements to be compared. Mixer
may compute a score, metric, ranking, or the like, associated with
each performance prognoses and candidate transfer apparatus and
select objectives to minimize and/or maximize the score/rank,
depending on whether an optimal result may be represented,
respectively, by a minimal and/or maximal score; an objective
function may be used by mixer to score each possible pairing. At
least an optimization problem may be based on one or more
objectives, as described below. Mixer may pair a candidate transfer
apparatus, with a given combination of performance prognoses, that
optimizes the objective function. In various embodiments solving at
least an optimization problem may be based on a combination of one
or more factors. Each factor may be assigned a score based on
predetermined variables. In some embodiments, the assigned scores
may be weighted or unweighted. Solving at least an optimization
problem may include performing a greedy algorithm process, where
optimization may be performed by minimizing and/or maximizing an
output of objective function. A "greedy algorithm" is defined as an
algorithm that selects locally optimal choices, which may or may
not generate a globally optimal solution. For instance, mixer may
select objectives so that scores associated therewith are the best
score for each goal. For instance, in non-limiting illustrative
example, optimization may determine the pitch moment associated
with an output of at least a propulsor based on an input.
With continued reference to FIG. 6, at least an optimization
problem may be formulated as a linear objective function, which
mixer may optimize using a linear program such as without
limitation a mixed-integer program. A "linear program," as used in
this disclosure, is a program that optimizes a linear objective
function, given at least a constraint; a linear program maybe
referred to without limitation as a "linear optimization" process
and/or algorithm. For instance, in non-limiting illustrative
examples, a given constraint might be torque limit, and a linear
program may use a linear objective function to calculate maximum
output based on the limit. In various embodiments, mixer may
determine a set of instructions towards achieving a user's goal
that maximizes a total score subject to a constraint that there are
other competing objectives. A mathematical solver may be
implemented to solve for the set of instructions that maximizes
scores; mathematical solver may be implemented on mixer and/or
another device in flight control system, and/or may be implemented
on third-party solver. At least an optimization problem may be
formulated as nonlinear least squares optimization process. A
"nonlinear least squares optimization process," for the purposes of
this disclosure, is a form of least squares analysis used to fit a
set of m observations with a model that is non-linear in n unknown
parameters, where m is greater than or equal to n. The basis of the
method is to approximate the model by a linear one and to refine
the parameters by successive iterations. A nonlinear least squares
optimization process may output a fit of signals to at least a
propulsor. Solving at least an optimization problem may include
minimizing a loss function, where a "loss function" is an
expression an output of which a ranking process minimizes to
generate an optimal result. As a non-limiting example, mixer may
assign variables relating to a set of parameters, which may
correspond to score components as described above, calculate an
output of mathematical expression using the variables, and select
an objective that produces an output having the lowest size,
according to a given definition of "size," of the set of outputs
representing each of plurality of candidate ingredient
combinations; size may, for instance, included absolute value,
numerical size, or the like. Selection of different loss functions
may result in identification of different potential pairings as
generating minimal outputs.
Referring now to FIG. 7, an embodiment of an electric aircraft 700
is presented. Still referring to FIG. 7, electric aircraft 700 may
include a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). As used
herein, a vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft may be one
that can hover, take off, and land vertically. An eVTOL, as used
herein, may be an electrically powered aircraft typically using an
energy source, of a plurality of energy sources to power the
aircraft. In order to optimize the power and energy necessary to
propel the aircraft. eVTOL may be capable of rotor-based cruising
flight, rotor-based takeoff, rotor-based landing, fixed-wing
cruising flight, airplane-style takeoff, airplane-style landing,
and/or any combination thereof. Rotor-based flight, as described
herein, may be where the aircraft generated lift and propulsion by
way of one or more powered rotors connected with an engine, such as
a "quad copter," multi-rotor helicopter, or other vehicle that
maintains its lift primarily using downward thrusting propulsors.
Fixed-wing flight, as described herein, may be where the aircraft
may be capable of flight using wings and/or foils that generate
life caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the
wings and/or foils, such as airplane-style flight. Control forces
of the aircraft are achieved by conventional elevators, ailerons
and rudders during fixed wing flight. Roll and Pitch control forces
on the aircraft are achieved during transition flight by increasing
and decreasing torque, and thus thrust on the four lift fans.
Increasing torque on both left motors and decreasing torque on both
right motors leads to a right roll, for instance. Likewise,
increasing the torque on the front motors and decreasing the torque
on the rear motors leads to a nose up pitching moment. Clockwise
and counterclockwise turning motors torques are increased and
decreased to achieve the opposite torque on the overall aircraft
about the vertical axis and achieve yaw maneuverability.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, a number of aerodynamic forces
may act upon the electric aircraft 700 during flight. Forces acting
on an electric aircraft 700 during flight may include, without
limitation, thrust, the forward force produced by the rotating
element of the electric aircraft 700 and acts parallel to the
longitudinal axis. Another force acting upon electric aircraft 700
may be, without limitation, drag, which may be defined as a
rearward retarding force which may be caused by disruption of
airflow by any protruding surface of the electric aircraft 700 such
as, without limitation, the wing, rotor, and fuselage. Drag may
oppose thrust and acts rearward parallel to the relative wind. A
further force acting upon electric aircraft 700 may include,
without limitation, weight, which may include a combined load of
the electric aircraft 700 itself, crew, baggage, and/or fuel.
Weight may pull electric aircraft 700 downward due to the force of
gravity. An additional force acting on electric aircraft 700 may
include, without limitation, lift, which may act to oppose the
downward force of weight and may be produced by the dynamic effect
of air acting on the airfoil and/or downward thrust from the
propulsor of the electric aircraft. Lift generated by the airfoil
may depend on speed of airflow, density of air, total area of an
airfoil and/or segment thereof, and/or an angle of attack between
air and the airfoil. For example, and without limitation, electric
aircraft 700 are designed to be as lightweight as possible.
Reducing the weight of the aircraft and designing to reduce the
number of components may be essential to optimize the weight. To
save energy, it may be useful to reduce weight of components of an
electric aircraft 700, including without limitation propulsors
and/or propulsion assemblies. In an embodiment, the motor may
eliminate need for many external structural features that otherwise
might be needed to join one component to another component. The
motor may also increase energy efficiency by enabling a lower
physical propulsor profile, reducing drag and/or wind resistance.
This may also increase durability by lessening the extent to which
drag and/or wind resistance add to forces acting on electric
aircraft 700 and/or propulsors.
Referring still to FIG. 7, aircraft may include at least a vertical
propulsor 704 and at least a forward propulsor 708. A forward
propulsor may be a propulsor that propels the aircraft in a forward
direction. Forward in this context may be not an indication of the
propulsor position on the aircraft; one or more propulsors mounted
on the front, on the wings, at the rear, etc. A vertical propulsor
may be a propulsor that propels the aircraft in an upward
direction; one of more vertical propulsors may be mounted on the
front, on the wings, at the rear, and/or any suitable location. A
propulsor, as used herein, may be a component or device used to
propel a craft by exerting force on a fluid medium, which may
include a gaseous medium such as air or a liquid medium such as
water. At least a vertical propulsor 704 may be a propulsor that
generates a substantially downward thrust, tending to propel an
aircraft in a vertical direction providing thrust for maneuvers
such as without limitation, vertical take-off, vertical landing,
hovering, and/or rotor-based flight such as "quadcopter" or similar
styles of flight.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, at least a forward propulsor
708 as used in this disclosure may be a propulsor positioned for
propelling an aircraft in a "forward" direction; at least a forward
propulsor may include one or more propulsors mounted on the front,
on the wings, at the rear, or a combination of any such positions.
At least a forward propulsor may propel an aircraft forward for
fixed-wing and/or "airplane"-style flight, takeoff, and/or landing,
and/or may propel the aircraft forward or backward on the ground.
At least a vertical propulsor 704 and at least a forward propulsor
708 includes a thrust element. At least a thrust element may
include any device or component that converts the mechanical energy
of a motor, for instance in the form of rotational motion of a
shaft, into thrust in a fluid medium. At least a thrust element may
include, without limitation, a device using moving or rotating
foils, including without limitation one or more rotors, an airscrew
or propeller, a set of airscrews or propellers such as
contrarotating propellers, a moving or flapping wing, or the like.
At least a thrust element may include without limitation a marine
propeller or screw, an impeller, a turbine, a pump-jet, a paddle or
paddle-based device, or the like. As another non-limiting example,
at least a thrust element may include an eight-bladed pusher
propeller, such as an eight-bladed propeller mounted behind the
engine to ensure the drive shaft may be in compression. Propulsors
may include at least a motor mechanically connected to at least a
first propulsor as a source of thrust. A motor may include without
limitation, any electric motor, where an electric motor may be a
device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, for
instance by causing a shaft to rotate. At least a motor may be
driven by direct current (DC) electric power; for instance, at
least a first motor may include a brushed DC at least a first
motor, or the like. At least a first motor may be driven by
electric power having varying or reversing voltage levels, such as
alternating current (AC) power as produced by an alternating
current generator and/or inverter, or otherwise varying power, such
as produced by a switching power source. At least a first motor may
include, without limitation, brushless DC electric motors,
permanent magnet synchronous at least a first motor, switched
reluctance motors, or induction motors. In addition to inverter
and/or a switching power source, a circuit driving at least a first
motor may include electronic speed controllers or other components
for regulating motor speed, rotation direction, and/or dynamic
braking. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of
this disclosure, will be aware of various devices that may be used
as at least a thrust element.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, during flight, a number of
forces may act upon the electric aircraft. Forces acting on an
aircraft 700 during flight may include thrust, the forward force
produced by the rotating element of the aircraft 700 and acts
parallel to the longitudinal axis. Drag may be defined as a
rearward retarding force which may be caused by disruption of
airflow by any protruding surface of the aircraft 700 such as,
without limitation, the wing, rotor, and fuselage. Drag may oppose
thrust and acts rearward parallel to the relative wind. Another
force acting on aircraft 700 may include weight, which may include
a combined load of the aircraft 700 itself, crew, baggage and fuel.
Weight may pull aircraft 700 downward due to the force of gravity.
An additional force acting on aircraft 700 may include lift, which
may act to oppose the downward force of weight and may be produced
by the dynamic effect of air acting on the airfoil and/or downward
thrust from at least a propulsor. Lift generated by the airfoil may
depends on speed of airflow, density of air, total area of an
airfoil and/or segment thereof, and/or an angle of attack between
air and the airfoil.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, at least a portion of an
electric aircraft may include at least a propulsor. A propulsor, as
used herein, may be a component or device used to propel a craft by
exerting force on a fluid medium, which may include a gaseous
medium such as air or a liquid medium such as water. In an
embodiment, when a propulsor twists and pulls air behind it, it
will, at the same time, push an aircraft forward with an equal
amount of force. The more air pulled behind an aircraft, the
greater the force with which the aircraft may be pushed forward.
Propulsor may include any device or component that consumes
electrical power on demand to propel an electric aircraft in a
direction or other vehicle while on ground or in-flight.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, in an embodiment, at least a
portion of the aircraft may include a propulsor, the propulsor may
include a propeller, a blade, or any combination of the two. The
function of a propeller may be to convert rotary motion from an
engine or other power source into a swirling slipstream which
pushes the propeller forwards or backwards. Propulsor may include a
rotating power-driven hub, to which are attached several radial
airfoil-section blades such that the whole assembly rotates about a
longitudinal axis. The blade pitch of the propellers may, for
example, be fixed, manually variable to a few set positions,
automatically variable (e.g. a "constant-speed" type), or any
combination thereof. In an embodiment, propellers for an aircraft
are designed to be fixed to their hub at an angle similar to the
thread on a screw makes an angle to the shaft; this angle may be
referred to as a pitch or pitch angle which will determine the
speed of the forward movement as the blade rotates.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, in an embodiment, a propulsor
can include a thrust element which may be integrated into the
propulsor. Thrust element may include, without limitation, a device
using moving or rotating foils, such as one or more rotors, an
airscrew or propeller, a set of airscrews or propellers such as
contra-rotating propellers, a moving or flapping wing, or the like.
Further, a thrust element, for example, can include without
limitation a marine propeller or screw, an impeller, a turbine, a
pump-jet, a paddle or paddle-based device, or the like.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, control surfaces may each
include any portion of an aircraft that can be moved or adjusted to
affect altitude, airspeed velocity, groundspeed velocity or
direction during flight. For example, control surfaces may include
a component used to affect the aircrafts' roll and pitch which may
include one or more ailerons, defined herein as hinged surfaces
which form part of the trailing edge of each wing in a fixed wing
aircraft, and which may be moved via mechanical means such as
without limitation servomotors, mechanical linkages, or the like,
to name a few. As a further example, control surfaces may include a
rudder, which may include, without limitation, a segmented rudder.
Rudder may function, without limitation, to control yaw of an
aircraft. Also, control surfaces may include other flight control
surfaces such as propulsors, rotating flight controls, or any other
structural features which can adjust the movement of the aircraft.
A "control surface" as described herein, is any form of a
mechanical linkage with a surface area that interacts with forces
to move an aircraft. A control surface may include, as a
non-limiting example, ailerons, flaps, leading edge flaps, rudders,
elevators, spoilers, slats, blades, stabilizers, stabilators,
airfoils, a combination thereof, or any other mechanical surface
are used to control an aircraft in a fluid medium. Persons skilled
in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this disclosure, will be
aware of various mechanical linkages that may be used as a control
surface, as used and described in this disclosure.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, aircraft 700 trajectory is
manipulated by one or more control surfaces and propulsors working
alone or in tandem consistent with the entirety of this disclosure,
hereinbelow. Pitch, roll, and yaw may be used to describe an
aircraft's attitude and/or heading, as they correspond to three
separate and distinct axes about which the aircraft may rotate with
an applied moment, torque, and/or other force applied to at least a
portion of an aircraft. "Pitch", for the purposes of this
disclosure refers to an aircraft's angle of attack, that is the
difference between the aircraft's nose and the horizontal flight
trajectory. For example, an aircraft pitches "up" when its nose is
angled upward compared to horizontal flight, like in a climb
maneuver. In another example, the aircraft pitches "down", when its
nose is angled downward compared to horizontal flight, like in a
dive maneuver. When angle of attack is not an acceptable input to
any system disclosed herein, proxies may be used such as pilot
controls, remote controls, or sensor levels, such as true airspeed
sensors, pitot tubes, pneumatic/hydraulic sensors, and the like.
"Roll" for the purposes of this disclosure, refers to an aircraft's
position about its longitudinal axis, that is to say that when an
aircraft rotates about its axis from its tail to its nose, and one
side rolls upward, like in a banking maneuver. "Yaw", for the
purposes of this disclosure, refers to an aircraft's turn angle,
when an aircraft rotates about an imaginary vertical axis
intersecting the center of the earth and the fuselage of the
aircraft. "Throttle", for the purposes of this disclosure, refers
to an aircraft outputting an amount of thrust from a propulsor.
Pilot input, when referring to throttle, may refer to a pilot's
desire to increase or decrease thrust produced by at least a
propulsor. More than one propulsor may be required to adjust
torques to accomplish the command to change pitch and yaw, mixer
would take in the command and allocate those torques to the
appropriate propulsors consistent with the entirety of this
disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the
entirety of this disclosure, will appreciate the limitless
combination of propulsors, flight components, control surfaces, or
combinations thereof that could be used in tandem to generate some
amount of authority in pitch, roll, yaw, and lift of an electric
aircraft consistent with this disclosure.
With continued reference to FIG. 7, "flight components", for the
purposes of this disclosure, includes components related to, and
mechanically connected to an aircraft that manipulates a fluid
medium in order to propel and maneuver the aircraft through the
fluid medium. The operation of the aircraft through the fluid
medium will be discussed at greater length hereinbelow. At least an
input datum may include information gathered by one or more
sensors. In non-limiting embodiments, flight components may include
propulsors, wings, rotors, propellers, pusher propellers, ailerons,
elevators, stabilizers, stabilators, and the like, among
others.
It is to be noted that any one or more of the aspects and
embodiments described herein may be conveniently implemented using
one or more machines (e.g., one or more computing devices that are
utilized as a user computing device for an electronic document, one
or more server devices, such as a document server, etc.) programmed
according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art.
Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled
programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as
will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art.
Aspects and implementations discussed above employing software
and/or software modules may also include appropriate hardware for
assisting in the implementation of the machine executable
instructions of the software and/or software module.
Such software may be a computer program product that employs a
machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium
may be any medium that is capable of storing and/or encoding a
sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a
computing device) and that causes the machine to perform any one of
the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of
a machine-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to,
a magnetic disk, an optical disc (e.g., CD, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R,
etc.), a magneto-optical disk, a read-only memory "ROM" device, a
random access memory "RAM" device, a magnetic card, an optical
card, a solid-state memory device, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any
combinations thereof. A machine-readable medium, as used herein, is
intended to include a single medium as well as a collection of
physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of
compact discs or one or more hard disk drives in combination with a
computer memory. As used herein, a machine-readable storage medium
does not include transitory forms of signal transmission.
Such software may also include information (e.g., data) carried as
a data signal on a data carrier, such as a carrier wave. For
example, machine-executable information may be included as a
data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal
encodes a sequence of instruction, or portion thereof, for
execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and any related
information (e.g., data structures and data) that causes the
machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments
described herein.
Examples of a computing device include, but are not limited to, an
electronic book reading device, a computer workstation, a terminal
computer, a server computer, a handheld device (e.g., a tablet
computer, a smartphone, etc.), a web appliance, a network router, a
network switch, a network bridge, any machine capable of executing
a sequence of instructions that specify an action to be taken by
that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a
computing device may include and/or be included in a kiosk.
FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a
computing device in the exemplary form of a computer system 800
within which a set of instructions for causing a control system to
perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the
present disclosure may be executed. It is also contemplated that
multiple computing devices may be utilized to implement a specially
configured set of instructions for causing one or more of the
devices to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or
methodologies of the present disclosure. Computer system 800
includes a processor 804 and a memory 808 that communicate with
each other, and with other components, via a bus 812. Bus 812 may
include any of several types of bus structures including, but not
limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a
local bus, and any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of
bus architectures.
Processor 804 may include any suitable processor, such as without
limitation a processor incorporating logical circuitry for
performing arithmetic and logical operations, such as an arithmetic
and logic unit (ALU), which may be regulated with a state machine
and directed by operational inputs from memory and/or sensors;
processor 804 may be organized according to Von Neumann and/or
Harvard architecture as a non-limiting example. Processor 804 may
include, incorporate, and/or be incorporated in, without
limitation, a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signal
processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Complex
Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU),
general purpose GPU, Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), analog or mixed
signal processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a floating point
unit (FPU), and/or system on a chip (SoC).
Memory 808 may include various components (e.g., machine-readable
media) including, but not limited to, a random-access memory
component, a read only component, and any combinations thereof. In
one example, a basic input/output system 816 (BIOS), including
basic routines that help to transfer information between elements
within computer system 800, such as during start-up, may be stored
in memory 808. Memory 808 may also include (e.g., stored on one or
more machine-readable media) instructions (e.g., software) 820
embodying any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of
the present disclosure. In another example, memory 808 may further
include any number of program modules including, but not limited
to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other
program modules, program data, and any combinations thereof.
Computer system 800 may also include a storage device 824. Examples
of a storage device (e.g., storage device 824) include, but are not
limited to, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical
disc drive in combination with an optical medium, a solid-state
memory device, and any combinations thereof. Storage device 824 may
be connected to bus 812 by an appropriate interface (not shown).
Example interfaces include, but are not limited to, SCSI, advanced
technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus
(USB), IEEE 1394 (FIREWIRE), and any combinations thereof. In one
example, storage device 824 (or one or more components thereof) may
be removably interfaced with computer system 800 (e.g., via an
external port connector (not shown)). Particularly, storage device
824 and an associated machine-readable medium 828 may provide
nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable
instructions, data structures, program modules, and/or other data
for computer system 800. In one example, software 820 may reside,
completely or partially, within machine-readable medium 828. In
another example, software 820 may reside, completely or partially,
within processor 804.
Computer system 800 may also include an input device 832. In one
example, a user of computer system 800 may enter commands and/or
other information into computer system 800 via input device 832.
Examples of an input device 832 include, but are not limited to, an
alpha-numeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a
joystick, a gamepad, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone, a
voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a
mouse), a touchpad, an optical scanner, a video capture device
(e.g., a still camera, a video camera), a touchscreen, and any
combinations thereof. Input device 832 may be interfaced to bus 812
via any of a variety of interfaces (not shown) including, but not
limited to, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a game port,
a USB interface, a FIREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus
812, and any combinations thereof. Input device 832 may include a
touch screen interface that may be a part of or separate from
display 836, discussed further below. Input device 832 may be
utilized as a user selection device for selecting one or more
graphical representations in a graphical interface as described
above.
A user may also input commands and/or other information to computer
system 800 via storage device 824 (e.g., a removable disk drive, a
flash drive, etc.) and/or network interface device 840. A network
interface device, such as network interface device 840, may be
utilized for connecting computer system 800 to one or more of a
variety of networks, such as network 844, and one or more remote
devices 848 connected thereto. Examples of a network interface
device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card
(e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and
any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not
limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise
network), a local area network (e.g., a network associated with an
office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic
space), a telephone network, a data network associated with a
telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile communications provider
data and/or voice network), a direct connection between two
computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network, such as
network 844, may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of
communication. In general, any network topology may be used.
Information (e.g., data, software 820, etc.) may be communicated to
and/or from computer system 800 via network interface device
840.
Computer system 800 may further include a video display adapter 852
for communicating a displayable image to a display device, such as
display device 836. Examples of a display device include, but are
not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube
(CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and
any combinations thereof. Display adapter 852 and display device
836 may be utilized in combination with processor 804 to provide
graphical representations of aspects of the present disclosure. In
addition to a display device, computer system 800 may include one
or more other peripheral output devices including, but not limited
to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such
peripheral output devices may be connected to bus 812 via a
peripheral interface 856. Examples of a peripheral interface
include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a
FIREWIRE connection, a parallel connection, and any combinations
thereof.
The foregoing has been a detailed description of illustrative
embodiments of the invention. Various modifications and additions
can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this
invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described
above may be combined with features of other described embodiments
as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature
combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the
foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been
described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the
principles of the present invention. Additionally, although
particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as
being performed in a specific order, the ordering is highly
variable within ordinary skill to achieve methods, systems, and
software according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, this
description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to
otherwise limit the scope of this invention.
Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled
in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be
made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
* * * * *
References